


By a Stretch of the Imagination

by odetojoie



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Chimera Ant Arc, Creepy!Illumi is creepy and sexy, Dubcon Cuddling, Dubcon Kissing, F/M, Hisoka has a dark past, Hisoka's Past, Love Triangles, Naked!Hisoka, Naughtiness, Slow Burn, bungee gum - Freeform, but no chimera ants, who would have guessed that
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-31
Updated: 2015-09-08
Packaged: 2018-04-18 07:47:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4697981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/odetojoie/pseuds/odetojoie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bored to tears while the Hunter Association fights the Chimera Ants, Hisoka looks around for new toys to play with...until a sudden scent brings him back to a time he thought he had completely forgotten.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wondered what happened to Hisoka during the Chimera Ant arc, so this is my answer. I'll try my best to stay IC for him, but if I mess up, I would love suggestions on how to improve! I have read plenty of Hisoka fics but haven't read too many that shed light on his mysterious past. :)
> 
> (Hisoka X OC)
> 
> Disclaimer: I of course don't own any of the characters or plotlines from HunterXHunter, I'm just letting them run loose in my own mind and seeing what they do.

Hisoka frowned slightly, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation. This hadn't turned out as planned.

He leaned back against the marble base of a column, eyes closed, and folded his well-muscled arms. With nothing interesting going on since the world discovered the presence of Chimera Ants, and Gon as of yet unripe, he had had to look for a way to amuse himself.

He'd heard talk of an all-powerful King Chimera Ant, which could get interesting, but decided not to get involved. That would mean he'd have to take sides, and Hisoka wasn't looking to get embroiled in a war. Politics got too messy; he much preferred to remain on the sidelines. He'd be more than happy to fight whoever won. Until then, let them kill each other.

On a whim, he had decided to re-clear the lower 200 floors of Heaven's Arena and scout for any other potential unripened talent. The extra padding on his bank account was, by this point, unnecessary, but couldn't hurt. The more he had to play with, the better.

So here he was, waiting for the next match. Normally he felt a vague thrill at the prospect of an upcoming fight, but even those had lost their flavor. And now, all fights were on hiatus below the 200th floor. It was rumored an assassin lurked in the lower floors, picking off those who lost their fights as they slept in their rooms or waited alone in the corridors. Bodies were never found, but some fighters had apparently gone missing. Normally that wouldn't matter in Heaven's Arena, but with the current mass hysteria surrounding Chimera Ants, people were being especially cautious.

The fighters above the 200th floor couldn't be bothered to join in the search for the supposed culprit; but the entire lower half of Heaven's Arena was in an uproar. Most fighters stayed in pairs or groups, now, to avoid being selected, and apparently their vacated rooms were now being targeted by an opportunistic thief.

An assassin and a thief, possibly working in tandem.. Are the Spiders here? His interest had been piqued, but he knew Kuroro and his Troupe would never stoop to fight and win money; they stole as they pleased. Besides, Hisoka rather hoped he would run into an assassin, so he'd spent the past few hours skulking around in dark corners of the Arena's halls, searching for any threats with En.

Aside from his considerable prowess with Nen, the painted jester had a discovered another unusual skill in a...particular body part of his within the nether region. Said body part acted as a unique "homing device", which evaluated and reacted rather strongly to evidence of strength in an individual. The stronger the individual, the more of a "signal" he got (and the more uncomfortable his pants became).

For this reason, especially, he preferred to wear harem pants that were especially loose around the crotch. During this particular round in Heaven's Arena, however, not one contestant had achieved even one blip of interest on his "strength meter". Shame, he thought. I could use the release.

The snap of combat boots down the hallway snapped Hisoka out of his musings; motionless, only his eyes followed the pair of burly men with hulking muscles as they sauntered past him, talking loudly about their latest conquests. Hisoka noted a slight uneasiness about them in the way their eyes darted around. Thinking about the assassin, no doubt. If they were strong, they'd have a much bigger problem (in the form of Hisoka) to worry about than some silly assassin.

Hisoka had noticed these juiceheads in the Arena's Training Center, piling excessive amounts of weight on the bar, screaming for more protein powder while weightlifting to intimidate the other contestants as they trained trained. He flicked one of his cards loudly and exuded a murderous Nen their way.

The men turned, eyes widening in fear when they spotted Hisoka. His reputation, naturally, had preceded him. By the time he posed to run his fingers through his hair, they had scuttled away faster than two crabs whose sunlight has been eclipsed by the shadow of a hawk. He glanced down at his genital region. Not even a twitch of interest from the antenna. Weaklings. Oh well.

He thought back on the last time he had gotten excited in the Arena. _Gon..._ his lips curled upwards with the memory of the fight and his fingertips ghosted over the area where Gon's fist had made contact with his cheek. Now there was some potential. He normally meted out swift retribution to his opponents without much explanation, but he couldn't help but to instruct Gon in his mistakes. He reveled in the boy's innocent fury and willful ignorance to the danger he was truly in. Just thinking about the moment caused a dark, visceral stirring within Hisoka. One day, his moment would come.

Hisoka had long since stopped caring whether his obsession with power and sexual appetites were mutually exclusive; as far as he was concerned, they were one and the same. He'd as soon fuck an opponent as kill them, it simply depended on whether the arena was the bedroom or the battlefield. The best manner of foreplay, in Hisoka's mind, was to lie in wait for a particular fruit to ripen. The best fruits, once ripe, had a particular scent he found utterly intoxicating...

Another scent, not quite the ripened fruit but just as familiar and intoxicating, wafted by his nose and brought Hisoka back to reality. He noticed a young woman seated on the floor against the opposite wall, reading a magazine. She had taken a stick of gum out of her pocket and began to chew loudly, popping loud bubbles. _Bungee Gum._

Hisoka hadn't had a piece in ages, but the smell of his favorite gum caused him to salivate. Momentarily distracted from his ever-present ennui, Hisoka examined the young woman with a growing sense of interest. He assumed she was in her early 20s, brunette, a bit unkempt, wearing an oversized men's jacket and shorts that revealed skinny legs. She didn't look like a fighter, although it was sometimes hard to tell.

The image of Gon's fiery stare ignited his imagination for a brief moment and he closed his eyes again. He could sense something from this woman's aura, although he wasn't sure what. The mystery of her aura did not interest him as much as the smell of the gum she was currently chewing, though.

Perhaps sensing his gaze, the woman glanced up at Hisoka. In response to her glance, he unfolded himself from his lounging position and rakishly posed with hand on hip and fingers running through his hair. No matter who was looking, Hisoka enjoyed preening himself openly.

The gum-chewer inwardly smirked, and turned back to her magazine. She had always found a peacock's display of finery to be pretentious and unattractive, and his painted face and shock of red hair certainly didn't give him any points. Sure, he was hot, but maybe underneath all the makeup and outrageous clothing.. but she wasn't really thinking about him in that way, anyways.

She turned another page and popped another gum-bubble, and suddenly felt a presence drape itself on the bench next to her. She tensed slightly, and didn't need to turn to know the dangerous jester had stretched himself beside her on the floor.

"You're all alone," said the jester, voice dripping with honey. _Did he know how much of a creep he comes off as? Actually, he probably gets off on being a creep,_ she thought.

"Well, I was enjoying my solitude in peace," she said meaningfully, not turning up from her magazine. She blew an especially large gum-bubble, and Hisoka blinked when it popped loudly.

A small piece of bubble-skin clung to her lip, and Hisoka watched intently as her tongue darted out to reclaim it. She noticed him leering out of the corner of her eye. _Yep, he definitely gets off on it._

"You feel safe here?" Hisoka asked, although his tone reflected more lascivious intent than earnest concern.

"I do. What's your point?" she responded, pointedly not looking up from her magazine.

"Well...Aren't you worried about the assassin?" He queried. Bungee-Gum Girl, as he'd labeled her, scoffed.

"Why, should I be?"

"A young woman like yourself shouldn't be all alone in Heaven's Arena with an assassin on the loose. Your boyfriend should know better than to leave you here."

Her response was to sit in stony silence and turn the page of her magazine.

Undeterred by the awkward silence, Hisoka tried another tactic. "You know, I haven't smelled that gum flavor in ages. I looked in stores everywhere, but I couldn't find it."

"Yeah, it was discontinued," she responded distractedly, reading her magazine.

"It was my favorite flavor. I'd love a piece, if you have any extra."

"Sorry, it was my last one."

"Can I have a half of your gum? I can tell it hasn't yet lost its flavor." At this, the woman finally shot Hisoka a sharp look, to which he smirked in response.

"Are you serious? It's in my mouth already."

"I won't mind it if it tastes like you, too," he purred.

"Forget it. You can't have any, you pervert. Go get your own gum." The woman sighed with exasperation and flipped her magazine shut, then placed it back into her teddy-bear backpack. She grabbed a pack of tissues out of her pack, then tossed one into Hisoka's lap as she stood up. "Here, that should help your drooling."

As the young woman walked away, she made a point of spitting her piece of gum out into a tissue and throwing it into the trashcan. From her shorts pocket, she pulled out a brand-new piece of gum and popped it into her mouth.

She looked over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out at an open-mouthed Hisoka, then vanished around the corner. The last thing he saw of her was her Teddy-Bear backpack cheekily winking at him.

That little brat had more gum. Hisoka leapt up and dashed to the corner, but Bungee-Gum Girl had disappeared faster than the Steroid Twins.

_Perhaps this stint at Heaven's Arena may prove interesting, after all._ He peeked back at the trash can and saw the discarded piece of gum innocently wrapped in the tissue atop a decaying apple.

He sniffed. He certainly wanted a piece, but he was too prideful to grab a piece of gum in the trash. He walked away from the trash can purposefully, then stopped and turned. He certainly didn't need that gum; he could go to the nearest vendor and purchase a packet of Bungee Gum.

_But this is the discontinued flavor you've been looking for since you were a kid..._ his mind whispered. _You may never find it again..._ Hisoka turned and looked back at the trashcan with lust.


	2. Fangirl Service

Ayako Ryoka could barely contain her glee as she watched Hisoka's inner struggle from behind a vending machine nearby. With (what she thought was) clever angling of a compact mirror, she could just make out Hisoka's reflection. _How trashy,_ she thought to herself, and nearly giggled aloud.

She knew she should be more serious, considering her current situation and the renowned lethality of the magician, but the execution of her plan was turning out even better than she could have hoped. _No joke, he really loves that gum._

The air suddenly filled with an chilling energy, and Ayako tensed as she felt tiny pinpricks cover her arms. Was he using Ren? Or no, uhh.. Hatsu? At that moment, she cursed herself for not continuing her practice of Nen mastery.

At a much earlier age, she had begged her brother Ako to let her join in on his training until he eventually relented. According to her master, she had shown a lot of promise; that is, until she hit the age of 13 and boys somehow became more interesting than battles. _I guess Hisoka doesn't like being denied what he wants,_ she mentally noted.

Soft approaching footsteps alerted her into focus; she curled herself into as small a ball as possible and focused on slowing her heartbeat, as she did in meditation. She could sense Hisoka on the prowl; he was searching for her. _I'm such an idiot; why did I think this could ever have worked.._ With each nearing step she was giving way to despair. Perhaps she should have trained before this foolhardy scheme.

The elevator dinged, and a throng of noisy 20-somethings piled out. One of them saw her curled on the floor, and immediately rushed to her side, stuttering. "H-hey miss, are you okay?" They encircled her, each voicing his concern.

Ayako was, at first, rooted to the floor with fear. Was Hisoka still there? But she could no longer feel his presence, and sighed with relief, tears welling up in her eyes. The men—obviously thinking she was hurt—rushed to offer a helping hand.

Normally she would have laughed at the over-eager chivalry, but she was too busy thinking about how months of meticulous planning had nearly come crashing down in one instant. She wasn't ready to confront Hisoka face-to-face—not yet, anyway.

Ayako looked into the face of the man who was offering his hand to help pull her up. He had a kind, young face, and she suddenly felt bad. "Miss?"

She accepted the helping hand, and stood shakily. "Yeah, I'm okay."

The men collectively sighed with relief. "Well, that's good," another spoke. "We thought you had been—ow!" He said, rubbing his ribs. He had been silenced by a sharp elbow.

Ayako smiled thinly, and explained, "I thought I felt the assassin coming, so I hid. Thank you for checking up on me." She continued to engage them in conversation for a few more moments, declined their offer to walk her back to her room—A pretty lady like herself shouldn't be walking alone in times like these, after all—and left.

No doubt those men had been looking for the assassin that patrolled these halls. Although they'd be relieved, they'd certainly be pissed if they knew the assassin rumor was a total farce. Nobody had actually gone missing from Heaven's Arena; Ayako had simply snuck into the elevator and run into the crowds walking around the 150th floor. When she thought the time was right, she let out a piercing scream and started wailing and pulling her hair about her missing brother—well, that part was true—and how an assassin had killed him after he had lost his battle—now, that part wasn't true.

Within twenty minutes, the whole floor was in an uproar. She had been taken by a staff member for questioning, but had managed to slip away in the commotion. By the end of the day, the entirety of Heaven's Arena was on lockdown and all battles had been canceled until further notice. No matter how brutal it could be, Heaven's Arena only allowed killing on their own terms-in the ring.

Actually, now that she thought about it, a lot of people would be pissed. Ayako grimaced. She hated lying, although she was certainly better at it than she'd expected. The act of lying made her feel like she had swallowed a meal of large stones; every time she was reminded of a lie the stones clacked against each other with a 'thunk' to remind her of her guilty conscience.

She thought of the panic she had felt when Hisoka emitted his chilling energy to find her. She had to remind herself, it was for Ako's sake. She grabbed her brother's ring—which she had placed on a simple necklace chain—and kissed it fervently. _Please be okay, brother._

Time to enact the next part of her plan.  
________________________________________________________________________________________________

_Moments earlier..._  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Though displeased at being mocked by the young woman, Hisoka was smiling in spite of himself. _It isn't often that someone could catch me off-guard,_ he thought, absently touching his cheek where Gon had hit him again.

_Perhaps I could have some fun with this one,_ he thought to himself, eyes narrowing as he slowed to consider his options. He didn't feel like killing her—the woman wasn't nearly strong enough and she posed no real threat to him—but he did have a plan to make her regret teasing him.

_Finding Bungee-Gum Girl shouldn't be a problem, especially since we're on lockdown._ Hisoka smiled to himself. _I do hope she puts up a fight._ He concentrated on sending his Nen out from himself to locate the girl, and was mildly surprised to sense a being mere meters away from him, by the vending machine. _Either she's trying to ambush me, or she's hiding. Either way, she's obviously completely ignorant to Nen._

His expression settled into a moue of discontent. He would have much preferred to hunt her down. But she did have that extra pack of gum. _Stealing gum from women, Hisoka? What's next, candy from babies?_ An inner voice nagged, but he didn't listen.

_It's no ordinary gum._ He walked purposefully towards the vending machine, and felt her tense in fear. At the same time, he heard an approaching elevator settle on the floor. He grinned to himself as he walked away, disappearing into another corridor before the group of men who emerged from the elevator could identify him.

He'd search for the woman later. Let her worry about the retribution to come.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ayako panted as she ran through the corridors, searching for the room number she needed. "Geez, girl, with all the med studies you've read by now, you think you'd spend more time taking care of your lazy ass!" Ayako rebuked herself aloud. _Well, guess I have the time now.._ she thought soberly.

Medical school had been the lifelong dream, although when she discovered her brother was missing, and the reason why he went missing in particular, she told the school she would be taking a year off for personal reasons.

Cut to a half year later, and Ayako was still searching for her older brother, and still nowhere near closer to getting him home safe and sound. But if this works…she shook her head. It just might be crazy enough to work. _Ok, shut up and keep looking for the room number._ Just then, she saw it. 15-oh-2.

She glanced at her watch. _Shit, 90 seconds left. Why does everything have to be so freaking hard?_ As she whipped a paper out of her teddy bear backpack, she thought back to her interaction with an Arena staff member about 8 minutes and 30 seconds before.  
________________________________________________________________________________________________  
_8 minutes and 30 seconds earlier..._  
________________________________________________________________________________________________

"What can I do you for, miss?" The staff member leered, looking Ayako up and down in a way that gave her the crawlies. She shuddered, but decided to ask anyways.

"Um, I'd like to find out where a fighter's room is—" she started, haltingly.

"Are you family?" He squinted at her distrustfully.

"Yes," she responded.

"Weeelp, then you can go to the front desk, no need to ask me," the staff member responded, turning back to his Room Service cart.

"Wait, wait, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have lied! I'm not. I just really, really need to give him a letter," Ayako pleaded. The staff member began to walk away without responding. Ayako winced, then gently placed her arm on the man's shoulder. As he turned back, she quickly read his nametag. "Please… Remy? I could really use your help."

Remy sighed. "Who do you want to give a letter to?"

"Uhh.. his name is… Hisoka?" _Shit, he's never going to give me the information,_ she thought worriedly.

"You one of those fangirls?" Remy asked, squinting at her judgmentally.

"What?"

"You heard me." Ayako looked at him incredulously. _Fangirl--what in the world is he talking about?_ "Do you even know what you're getting yourself into?" Remy continued, with condescension in his tone.

Ayako shrugged. "Yeah.. it's just a letter."

"Just a letter, huh?" Remy's face had turned a shade of red that looked positively apoplectic. Within seconds he had calmed, and responded brusquely. "It's 50,000 Jenny, no refunds if he doesn't answer you back. I tell you the number, you slip a note under his door, no lingering, no coming back unless you're invited. You have 10 minutes."

"Seriously?" Ayako knew he wasn't supposed to give out that kind of information, but this was beyond strange.

"Seriously. No lingering. You try to get inside the door, I'll call security. I'm going to go watch the cameras; I'll know if you're there."

"You act like this is normal… has this happened before?" Remy crossed his arms, stonewalling her.

"Well then, I don't have to deliver it in person… How much for you to deliver it for me instead?"

"Nothing. What do I look like, the postman? I'm not going near that man's room on your behalf."

"Alright.. You said I had only 10 minutes?"

"Starting as soon as you pay for the information."

"Deal." The transaction was made, a number was given, and Ayako made a beeline for the elevator.

When Ayako was gone, Remy re-counted the jenny in his hands, folded it, and put it in a large envelope he had hidden at the bottom of his cart. "Ugh… I hate fangirls."

________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Present  
________________________________________________________________________________________________

She shook her head. That had been… weird. _Okay, the note looks good… final touches… how will he know it's me?_ She thought for a second, then grinned. She unwrapped another piece of Bungee Gum and stuck it in her mouth, then put the empty wrapper in the middle of the page and folded the letter like an envelope. She then hastily scribbled a note on the outside and shoved it under the door. Yes! 10 seconds left!

As she started to do a victory dance, Remy's warning came back to her clearly: NO LINGERING. Ayako rolled her eyes and looked straight at the obvious security camera in the corner of the corridor, flipping it the bird. _How's that for fangirl service, Remy_ , she thought, cackling as she ran off to prepare for the next phase.


	3. Firestarter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens...

The Corridor

.........................

Ayako was anxious. She took a lighter out of her teddy-bear backpack and started flicking it erratically. Click-click-click. She hadn't actually left Hisoka's floor, but had instead ducked behind a corner and hid next to a column, out of sight of Remy's security camera.

When would he get back to his room and find the note? _Click-click-click._

Would he take all night? _Click-click-click._

Would he even open it? _Click-click-click._

If he did, would he be able to figure it out? _Click-click-click._

She knew that she had left a lot of this plan up to chance.

Click-click-Ayako's phone beeped urgently, startling her and causing her to drop her lighter. She had forgotten to turn off the sound. She glanced at the text featured on the screen and swore under her breath.

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=j0bm75)

 

"Ah, shit." She could practically hear him yelling at her. Old Man was her name for Leorio in her phone. Ayako was certainly closer in age to Leorio than his Hunter pals; however, she had once overheard the nickname on one of Leorio's phone conversations while the two of them were studying for their Anatomy final, and she frequently teased him about it.

Ayako thought the name fit him perfectly, especially because Leorio was so gruff and grumpy all the time. Also, and only she knew this because she had fallen asleep studying so often at his apartment: Leorio had a pair of pink, fuzzy old man slippers that he liked to wear in the morning as he was making coffee. When Ayako first saw him wearing them, she doubled over in a fit of laughter. "Old Man, what in the hell are you wearing on your feet?!"

Leorio, as usual, did not take her humor very well. "MY FEET GET COLD IN THE MORNING!" he roared grouchily.

"Ahahah...You really are an old man!" Ayako had fallen out of her chair and onto the floor.

"THE KITCHEN TILES ARE COLD, DAMMIT!" Leorio slammed the coffee he had made for her onto the desk and crossed his arms.

"Go away...Leorio...I can't breathe..." Ayako gasped in between laughing fits, in a fetal position on the floor.

"Asshole." He shuffled away in a huff, which of course made her laugh even harder.

Leorio had threatened that if she ever told anyone about his slippers, they would never find her body, so she swore to secrecy. Although every time she saw him wearing those slippers ever after, she would have a little chuckle to herself.

Ayako grabbed her phone and texted an apology: 

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=nh1h1v)

She decided to leave out the part where she had nearly gotten caught by Hisoka. No need for Leorio to get a heart attack.

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=zy5xv)

Ayako grinned as she put her phone away. Leorio was clearly pouting, but he seemed relieved... as far as she could interpret from text message, anyways. _Oh, Leorio._ He understood the urgency of her situation, but he couldn't help but worry about her, all the same. _He's a good guy._

Although Ayako considered Leorio to be one of her closest friends now, when they'd first started hanging out in medical school, Leorio had asked her out on a few dates. Hell, they had even once had a steamy, 20-minute makeout session that had left her toes vaguely sore from how hard they had curled in delight.

Admittedly, she had entertained the notion of marrying him, back then. He was everything she could have wanted in a man: he was attractive, incredibly smart, and best of all, he had a good heart. But after she found out about Ako's kidnapping, she knew that love just wasn't in her cards at the moment. She explained this to Leorio as well; he understood, and they both set to work on figuring out a plan to rescue Ako from the clutches of his captors.

Ayako sighed as she pocketed her phone. She really did love Leorio, in her own way. Maybe not as a lover, but as a best friend. Time would tell what would happen between them.

.........................

Hisoka returned to his room after leisurely walking down to the front desk to inquire about a certain brunette with a disheveled pixie cut and a teddy-bear backpack. The receptionist apologized, no she hadn't seen any woman fitting that description, but was there anything else she could do for Hisoka-san? The magician thanked the girl and returned to his room, deep in thought.

.........................

Ayako heard footsteps approaching and used her compact mirror once again to peer around the corner. Her heart squeezed sharply in fear. He was there, opening the door to his room! Ayako withdrew her mirror and sat, heart pounding to the beat of a tribal war dance. She gripped her lighter tightly and stared at her watch, counting down the seconds. She would give it two minutes, and then she would act. And then she would run.

.........................

Hisoka opened the door to his room and sighed egotistically at the flurry of love notes strewn across the floor. Obviously the fangirls were at it again; Hisoka didn't know how they found out where he was staying, but didn't mind the attention one bit. He bent over to pick them up one-by-one and bring them to the trash. "My darling Hisoka…";"I LOVE YOU!";"Please marry me!"; Hisoka smirked. These women really didn't know what they were getting themselves into. He paused at the next letter, reading the outside. The other letters forgotten and discarded, Hisoka snatched the folded note up.

The outside of the message was hastily penned in a bold red marker:

_Want more than just the wrapper? Come find me and I'll share… - Ayako ^w^_

As Hisoka unfolded the message, a small piece of paper fell out of it. Hisoka caught it in his left hand as he was reading the message. He brought the wrapper to his nose and inhaled deeply, closing his eyes in reverie. _Yes, this is the one I've been looking for._ The thin film of nen that constantly surrounded Hisoka turned a dark pink, and tendrils started flickering out of it erratically.

 _This is exactly what I want._ He licked the wrapper, tastebuds firing in ecstasy as he caught the tantalizing wisps of flavor that dusted the outside of the stick of gum. He kept his eyes closed for a moment longer, savoring the taste. Then he pocketed the wrapper and read the message.

The inside of the message read:

_As the seeker seeks a sweet surprise_

_He leaves his heaven to travel to another_

_Follow the cherub's clarion call_

_To sup on the nectar of the gods_

_As stars shed tears in reverie._

Hisoka's eyes narrowed. _Bungee-Gum Girl liked riddles?_ Deciphering it was simple: the first line referred to his quest for the gum; the second refers to another "heaven", meaning the place in question is outside of Heaven's Arena— _but wait, he thought, Heaven's Arena is on lockdown—_

A piercing alarm suddenly interrupted Hisoka's train of thought. The fire alarm. A loud voice crackled through the speaker set in the corner of his kitchen. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. EVERYONE PLEASE EXIT THE ARENA CALMLY AND QUICKLY THROUGH THE STAIRS CLOSEST TO YOU. I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL. EVERYONE PLEASE EXIT-Hisoka's eyes narrowed, calculating.

The chain of events was all starting to seem too serendipitous. Rumors of an assassin to put the Arena on lockdown; followed by rumors of a thief to keep everyone in their rooms; the lone girl chewing his favorite flavor of Bungee Gum… and now, as he receives this letter telling him to leave the arena, the fire alarm goes off.

Hisoka had a pretty good idea of what—or who, rather—caused the alarm to go off. He pocketed the note with a sour look on his face. He didn't like to be toyed with. If there were any games to be played, he was going to be the one to play them. He was going to go find this girl, and she wasn't going to be happy when he did.


	4. A Bird in the Hand, Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens...

....................  
60 minutes after the alarm went off  
....................

Ayako was exhausted after finally making it out of the building, down all 152 flights of stairs. Thank god there were multiple exits, or they would never have gotten out of the building. She hoped Hisoka would be game to listen to what she had to say; although she supposed anyone who just had to evacuate 150+ floors via a crowded stairwell would need some time to cool off.

Maybe she should evade him for a while; find some place to hunker down for a bit. _At least,_ she thought, _he won't make a scene in a crowd like this._ She started jostling her way through the crowded square to get to her chosen location up the hill.

....................  
5 Minutes Later  
....................

Hisoka exited the building. On the outside he looked barely unruffled, but the truth was, he had been ready to take out his deady Nen cards and begin slicing his way through the crowded stairwell just to make it out. Getting to the bottom without murdering anyone had been a test of wills harder than any physical obstacle the Hunter Examination board could have dreamed up. The only thing keeping him (relatively) sane was the thought of confronting Miss Ryoka, the saucy game-player. He'd show her what a master manipulator was truly capable of. He pulled out Ayako's note once again.

_As the seeker seeks a sweet surprise_

_He leaves his heaven to travel to another_

_Follow the cherub's clarion call_

_To sup on the nectar of the gods_

_As stars shed tears in reverie._

He supposed the last line was some reference to the symbols on his face.

Follow the cherub's clarion call—that had to be some landmark. The only problem was, nearly everything in this city had a connection to or play on words involving "Heaven" in some way.

Hisoka pulled out his phone and typed in "cherub's clarion call Heaven's arena".

Nothing. Naturally, it wouldn't be that easy.

He tapped a finger against his bottom lip and typed "list of places near heaven's arena". He scanned the list: Heaven's Market, Heaven's Apothecary, Heaven's Gadgets— _seriously, who came up with these names?_ —then stopped. "Angel's Trumpet"-it was a tavern not too far away from the arena.

Hisoka supposed an angel's trumpet could be considered a "cherub's clarion call". He clicked on the website link, and the first thing that came up was a large, red banner with two fat, naked babies trumpeting joyfully on the page.

The advertisement was for their "Ambrosia Ale": "COME ONE, COME ALL, TASTE THE NECTAR OF THE GODS!" That was...disappointingly easy for someone with a smartphone. He memorized the coordinates and pocketed his phone.

Though the riddle was not terribly ingenious, he supposed this "Ayako" was mostly trying to delay him from finding her too quickly. He scanned the crowd and happened to spot the winking face of a teddy-bear backpack as it turned the corner.

_Not fast enough, girl._ He pocketed his phone. _You're mine._

Ayako practically cheered when she saw the sign for Angel's Trumpet. _First round on me!,_ she thought tiredly. As she took the next step, however, she felt a sudden, strange pulling on her backpack, and turned her head.

At the end of the narrow street, Hisoka was regally standing with hand on hip and finger pointed at her back. She realized he had attached something to her backpack, although she couldn't see it.

"Come here, girl." Far from the seductive tone of before, this tone was devoid of any playfulness. _Oh shit, he sounds pissed. Abort mission._ In a fight or flight situation, Ayako was not ashamed to say that she would happily grow wings and take to the sky if she could.

Ayako raised her hands in a disarming gesture. "Wait a second, Hisoka-san. I'm sorry I wasn't honest with you at first... it's complicated, but just give me a moment to explain, okay?"

Hisoka crooked a finger at her. She suddenly had to lean hard to avoid being dragged to him. As Hisoka pulled, she quickly divested herself of her teddy bear backpack and ran down another alley. One turn later, and-

Shit, a dead end!

"Wrong turn, Miss Ryoka.." came a husky voice that managed to be simultaneously sing-song and menacing. Ayako turned and saw Hisoka holding her teddy-bear backpack in one hand, the other outstretched.

Thinking quickly, she pulled out the last piece of gum in her back pocket. She held it up like a weapon, brandishing it in front of Hisoka. The jester froze, a tiger halted seconds before the strike. Although the woman looked absolutely ridiculous, that defiant look in her eyes... if he wasn't so pissed he would be hard instantly.

"Don't come any closer! If you hurt me you'll never get this gum! Just listen to what I have to say first!"

Hisoka retracted his claws and sneered, hand back on hip. "After spending the last hour stuck in a stairwell the last thing I want to do is listen to what you have to say. Now hand it over, and don't do anything stupid."

Ayako suddenly felt a hot flash of anger. Every turn of her plan was another brick wall, and this-this pompous _asshole_ was threatening to derail her plan. She felt her chances of saving Ako slip away with each passing second, and all because of some fucking gum.

Impulsively, she dropped the pack and kicked it into the gutter at her feet.

Hisoka's face momentarily went blank with shock before he lost his aloof composure and lunged at Ayako, snarling. Ayako's eyes could barely register movement, but she stumbled backwards, tripping over herself. With a yelp, she went down, barely evading Hisoka's grasp. She slammed her head into the ground, hard, and her consciousness went fuzzy and warm just before blackness overcame her.

....................  
Some time later...  
....................

The first thing Ayako could sense when she woke up were the wonderfully soft covers enveloping her. The next thing she realized was that she was naked, and so she slowly extended her arms and legs like a starfish, luxuriating in the silky feeling. Whatever the thread count, she had to get a set of these sheets.

The pleasing white noise of the shower running made her smile drowsily as she slowly regained consciousness.

She heard the shower stop, and smiled to herself, nestling her head further into the pillow. I guess we finally slept together, she thought, with a warm, fuzzy feeling in her stomach. "Hummmm, Leorio..." She sighed happily, and searched her mind to relive the details of the prior night, but... none were coming. _Did I drink last night?_

The door opened, and Ayako tensed without opening her eyes. Something was wrong. She couldn't hear the tell-tale shuffle of Leorio's slippers. She opened her eyes into slivers and peered at the half-naked man walking past her in naught but a towel. Her vision was still blurry, but-

_WOW, those are very nicely sculpted abs, and-oh!_ The towel dropped as the man opened his wardrobe. Ayako wanted to look away in modesty, but her curiosity overcame her. _That is truly a perfectly-muscled ass._ She bit her lip and let her eyes run over his full figure, imagining how that ass would look as he thrust- _WAIT. NO._ Her eyes shot open as she noted the shock of sexy, dripping wet, RED hair. _NO. NO. NO._ She closed her eyes again in prayer, then opened them again to be sure she was not dreaming.

She wasn't. Frozen in place, Ayako was simultaneously fascinated by the sight before her and horrified by the implications.

Hisoka turned to look at her, still in all his unabashed, nude glory, and she averted her eyes, blushing. "Oh, you're finally awake," he observed smugly. "You obviously like what you see," he said, stretching and posing so that each of his muscles was highlighted on display.

"Did we-did we, uh... sleep together?" Ayako was horrified, although she couldn't tell if it was because she was addressing Hisoka instead of Leorio or because she couldn't tear her eyes away from the chiseled statue in front of her. Probably both.

Hisoka raised a bored eyebrow at her, playfulness gone in an instant at her tone. "Not in the way you're insinuating." His voice still reflected peevishness, but the iciness from before had melted somewhat.

"Where am I?"

"My suite, in Heaven's Arena." Hisoka turned back to the dresser and grabbed a button-up shirt.

SHIT, SHIT-Leorio! He must be freaking out! Knowing him, he may have already booked the next airship out to Heaven's Arena. Ayako prayed that wasn't the case; knowing Leorio, he'd start yelling at Hisoka, who would squash him with disinterest like an ant under one's shoe. Her phone; she needed her phone. Ayako sat up too quickly and reeled, grabbing her head.

Hisoka looked back at her while dressing. "Oh, I wouldn't move too fast if I were you, Ry-yo-ka-san," he trilled at her, extending the syllables of her name in a playful manner. "You had a pretty bad concussion."

_His personality is like dipping a thermometer in between a pot of boiling and ice water,_ Ayako groused to herself as she fought the urge to vomit. _Does he always have such mercurial mood swings?_

"Did you... carry me here and bandage my head?" Ayako asked in wonderment when the nausea subsided. Hisoka inclined his head.

"Why am I here? Are you going to...kill me?" she asked in a small voice.

"Not at all; I don't fight unarmed women," he sniffed. "That would be no fun at all."

Ayako remembered how he had leapt at her, and shuddered. "Why did you come at me, then?"

"I was initially planning on giving you a scare for making me wait around in that stairwell and teasing me with your gum and silly note. However, when you kicked that pack of gum into the drain, I fully intended to restrain you with my Bungee Gum and give you the spanking of your life right there in that alley," Hisoka explained evenly. "And that wouldn't have been a fight," he added cheerfully, to clarify.

Ayako blanched, clutching the blankets around her nakedness like a shield. Normally she would have been outraged at such a suggestion, but the hard look in his eyes told her she would have had no choice in the matter. "Don't touch me..." she faltered.

Hisoka rolled his eyes. "I'm not about to add injury to injury." Fully dressed now in casual clothes, he pulled a chair out from the small, circular dining table and positioned it backwards against the bed, leaning against the chair backing and staring into Ayako's eyes intently. "You will give a truthful answer to all of my questions, however, or I'll change my mind about that spanking." He sounded simultaneously playful and dead serious.

Lanced by the magician's golden gaze, Ayako felt very much a mouse to a powerful bird of prey. Hopelessly entranced, she stared back at the terrifying, beautiful man. "Can I..uh.." she blinked to regain composure. "Can I get dressed first?" _Or can you just get naked again and pose for me, all day?_ A voice suggested in the back of her mind. She shushed the voice viciously.

"Your clothes are being laundered."

"Why did you take my clothes off, anyways?" Ayoka asked suspiciously, distrust overcoming her fear.

Hisoka sighed wearily. "Head wounds bleed a lot, even if they're shallow. It got all over your clothes. I don't have time to argue with Room Service about bloody bed-sheets, so I bathed you and bandaged your head."

Ayako folded her arms at the evasive answer; that only seemed like more work to avoid doing less work. "Why didn't you just take me to a hospital?"

"If I took you to a hospital, you would be out of my sight, and I couldn't have that."

"I could have died! You're not a doctor!"

"I know how to treat a concussion," Hisoka informed her archly. "I would have tried keeping you awake, but you were already passed out, so I washed your wound, bandaged it, and put you in bed. You started shivering at night, so I got under the covers with you. I was dressed and we were separated by a blanket," he explained, exasperated. He pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers, and sighed. 

Ayako still looked disbelieving, so he continued. "Your note promised Bungee Gum. You threw it away when I found you. Now you have time to procure more, and I'll make sure that you do."

"What about-" Ayako started, but Hisoka interrupted with an officious wave of the hand.

"Enough. I thought I said I would be the one asking questions."

Ayako frowned, but was silent.

Hisoka had trouble containing a groan of lust at the pixie-haired woman. She had a very expressive face, with pouty, pillowy lips and large hazel doe eyes, and she was pretty in an exotic, non-traditional sort of way. What he enjoyed most of all, however, were the conflicting expressions on her face.

Resentment, fear, lust, pride...the girl didn't know what she wanted, and he reveled in the knowledge that he inspired those emotions. The fact was, Hisoka had orchestrated this encounter very carefully in order to maintain the upper hand...

....................

Hisoka could, in fact, have left her clothes on when he was washing the blood out of her hair; at the very least, he could have left her undergarments on. However, he knew that the best way to confuse her was to undress her and put her in his bed. After, he called Machi to treat the gash on her head.

Machi had scowled at the sight of the young woman in Hisoka's bed, but raised a hand to cut Hisoka off when he started to offer an explanation. "I would prefer not to know." Hisoka proffered his usual invitation to dinner, but Machi stonewalled him. "10 million Jenny this time, Hisoka."

"That's significantly higher than last time, Machi-san," Hisoka drawled.

"The extra is a convenience fee, not only for dragging me all the way out here again, but for involving me in more of your personal affairs. You know I'm not interested."

"Au contraire, Machi-san, I think you're very interested in my personal affairs." Hisoka smiled good-naturedly at Machi's sound of disgust. "You know, it's always such a pleasure to see you, Machi," he said earnestly. Visits from Machi always pleased him, especially since she looked so disgusted by him. He knew she was impressed by his strength and prowess.

At one time, he had considered breaking her, but Machi's skills as a healer were too invaluable to him. So instead he settled for entertaining fantasies of pulling that pink hair back roughly and ravaging the woman until she was breathless. Machi scowled again as Hisoka's eyes followed her around the room.

Machi knew what that look meant; not that she was afraid of the jester, but she didn't need the complications. It was time for her to leave. "You'll wire the money into my account again, yes?"

"Consider it done." Hisoka inclined his head. "Until next time."

After Machi had left, Hisoka had spent some additional time planning. He browsed through her phone and search history, eyes narrowing in interest at what he found. Besides other interesting things, a certain "Old Man" was absolutely livid with worry, and had sent approximately 20 text messages that became progressively angrier, as evidenced by the cursing and writing in all caps.

He dialed "Old Man" from her phone, his sinister smile widening as he listened to the frantic man pick up on the other end.

"AYAKO RYOKA, I'M GOING TO WRING YOUR FUCKING NECK WHEN I SEE YOU! WHY HAVENT YOU CONTACTED ME?! FORGET IT, THIS IS TOO DANGEROUS; I'M BOOKING THE NEXT AIRSHIP TO COME AND GET YOU!" Leorio paused in the middle of his rant. "…Ayako? Are you listening to me?"

"Ahhhhhh, Leorio-san." Hisoka crooned into the phone.

"Hisoka!" Leorio hissed. "Where is Ayako?"

Hisoka glanced over at the bed. "She's sleeping."

"You touch a fucking hair on her head and I'll bury you."

"Oh you will?" Hisoka laughed, amused by the empty threat. "Why, is Medical School too boring for you? Now you want to come back for Round Two? Evidently I didn't hit you hard enough last time, Leorio."

The voice on the other end sounded pained. "Hisoka, please…"

Hisoka could hear Ayako stirring; her breathing patterns had changed. "I'll have her text you when she wakes up," he offered smoothly. He was lying; Hisoka didn't share his toys with anyone.

"HISO-" Hisoka blithely turned off the phone and stored it in the back part of his dresser, attaching it with Bungee Gum so it couldn't be detached, and covering it with Texture Surprise so it appeared to have the same wood grain as the rest of the dresser. He quietly closed his wardrobe and headed to the shower. He had a perfectly timed towel-drop to execute.


	5. A Bird in the Hand, Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hisoka interviews Ayako.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My formatting isn't perfect... if you've come this far in my story, then you've noticed that I like to use italics for inner dialogue. If something is clearly an inner thought, and is not italicized, it's because I accidentally missed it. 
> 
> Does anyone know how to make the copy-paste process easier without having to go back through each sentence and write (i) and (/i) ? It's really laborious.

Present  
....................

Twenty minutes after the perfectly timed towel-drop, Hisoka was now fixated on Ayako's lips and thought of the pink tongue that had slipped out to reclaim the small piece of gum clinging to her lip. He had a sudden urge to lean over and bite and suck on those lips until they were bruised and swollen.

Ayako noticed that the energy of the room had changed; Hisoka was giving her the same leering look as when they first met, but this time... She realized, with chagrin, that this time... she was unbearably turned on by it.

Her mouth went dry, and she chided herself. _Really, Ayako, get a grip! The man just attacked you, threatened to discipline you like a child, is holding you captive in his room, and you respond by wanting to have sex with him?!_

Ashamed at her thoughts, Ayako cleared her throat. "Aren't you going to ask me questions?"

He stared at her another long moment, enjoying how she squirmed uncomfortably. "I'm assessing you first."

"What do you mean, assessing me?"

"Wellll… I'm a lie detector. If you lie, I'll know about it!" He teased, waggling a finger at her. "You know what will happen if I catch you in a lie, right?"

Ayako's cheeks burned with shame, but her eyes blazed in defiance. _Fucker,_ she thought viciously. _He's playing mind-games to throw me off._ "Ask away."

"I'll start simple. What is your first name?"

"Ayako. I even wrote that on my note to you."

"Last name?"

"…Ryoka."

"Good job." Hisoka clapped his hands together. "That was the truth."

_How did he know that? He must have searched through my wallet, that's all. I gotta be careful around him; I don't know what he knows._

"How did you know about my connection to Bungee Gum?"

Ayako smirked. "Anyone with an Internet connection can find out those things."

"I'll guarantee you, not anywhere on the Internet will you find personal information like that."

"Well, on the Hunter website it says more than you might think," responded Ayako confidently.

Hisoka pried: "You're no Hunter."

"Well, no, but.." Ayako groaned. I said too much.

"Are you a hacker, or do you know someone with a Hunter license?"

Ayako considered lying, but Hisoka's warning occurred to her again. In her vulnerable state, the thought wasn't exactly appealing. "I know someone."

"Good, and can you tell me his name?"

Ayako looked away.

Storm clouds appeared on Hisoka's brow. "You know, Ayako, I'm perfectly fine asking you these questions nicely, but I have other ways of making you talk."

Ayako's eyes filled with frustrated tears, but she willed them not to spill. "His name is Leorio."

Hisoka smiled. "See, now was that so hard? You're doing a great job."

Ayako sat in mutinous silence, refusing to look at the jester.

He sighed. "Alright, Round 2. How did you find this discontinued flavor, and how did you even know that was the one I would want?"

Ayako responded, this time with a hint of pride. "Well, we looked on the Hunter website and got a lead; some candy collector was offering multiple packs of the old flavor; there was only one, so I thought you'd prefer the rare kind. I just didn't know how much you wanted it… I just figure, anyone who names his Nen ability after a flavor of gum has to think it's special in some way."

It had a very special significance to him, but Hisoka wasn't about to admit it. "You said multiple packs."

"Yes, I purchased 80 cases of gum; enough to last even the most fanatical gum chewer a few years."

"Where are they?"

"I have the cases in another location."

He got up and walked to another part of the room, deep in thought. "Why are you doing this?"

Ayako sighed. "I was hoping to have this conversation with you over a couple of pints of Ambrosia Ale..."

"I'm not interested in drinking with you," he responded with a dismissive wave of the hand, "I want to know why you are going to such great lengths to pursue me." He cocked his head, calculating. "Do you want to be my lover?"

Scandalized at being asked such a forthright question, Ayako stuttered, "N-no, I, uh…".

"I could tell by the way you were watching me. The flush in your cheeks is a dead giveaway," Hisoka smirked, sitting back down in the chair. "I don't blame you; I am an excellent lover."

Ayako was thoroughly flustered and slightly humiliated by Hisoka's sharp observations. "Just because you're attractive doesn't mean I want to be your lover. And, it's warm in here, that's why my cheeks are hot," she pouted. _Liar,_ her conscience whispered.

_Liar,_ Hisoka thought. His smile widened; he knew he had succeeded in gaining the upper hand. "You and I both know that's a lie, but I'll let that one slide. Tell me the real reason why you are pursuing me."

_Here goes,_ Ayako thought gingerly. "My brother Ako disappeared. I need to find him."

Hisoka raised an eyebrow at her. "You went through all this trouble because you think I can help you find your brother?" _Perhaps she's not as clever as she seems,_ he thought.

"No, not exactly," Ayako said, pained. "Let me explain."

"Go ahead."

Hisoka listened as Ayako explained how she lost both of her parents when she was 8. Her mother had passed away from a severe illness, and her father disappeared about a month afterwards.

"Nobody seemed to care; the whole town knew he was a drunk, and figured he had just run away because he didn't want to raise his kids by himself. My brother Ako tried to find him for weeks, but had to give up. Even though we were just two kids on our own, we always had a roof over our heads and food to eat. Ako always saw to that. He even helped me through college."

"I found out later on that my brother had borrowed a large sum of money from a local loan shark. Ako didn't know it at the time, but the loan shark had ties to the Mafia. When he defaulted on his loan, the shark demanded Ako repay him with favors. Small favors, at first: delivery of messages, then parcels, then thievery…" Ayako trailed off.

"It got worse for Ako with each successive errand. I didn't realize…" she paused, eyes welling with tears. At the time, she had looked down on her brother for being a thug; she hadn't realized the position he had put himself in, to be able to support her financially. She blinked them away and continued.

"One night, when I was at med school, I got a frantic call from Ako. He told me everything, and let me know that they were coming to try and take him away. He mentioned something about a labor camp, and then the phone line went dead. I know he's still alive. I need you to help me find him and bring him home safely."

Hisoka was silent after Ayako finished her story. He walked to the window and looked outside for a long while. Shapely clouds floated serenely in the sky, casting peaceful shadows on the city below as they passed. Although he was not one to dwell on the past, for a moment Hisoka entertained the gremlins dancing in the dark recesses of his mind. Finally, he spoke. "What makes you think I will help you fight against the Mafia to rescue your brother?"

"It wouldn't hurt to have a doctor in your back pocket who you could call upon for favors."

"I have a healer already who stitches all my wounds just fine."

"But I'm sure you have to pay your healer."

"You wouldn't want to be in my debt, Ayako-chan," the magician answered coolly. The heat was flickering in his eyes, and she started to sense dissatisfaction.

Feeling bold, Ayako retorted, "Fine. I think you'll help me because you're desperately bored and there's nothing for you to do here."

Hisoka smirked; although she had been spot on in her assessment of his boredom, he wasn't going to let her take the upper hand in this power-play. "And how do you presume to know this? I have plenty of fights up ahead."

Ayako folded her arms. "Because nobody here is as powerful as you are."

Hisoka practically hummed with pleasure at hearing her words. "You're not wrong about that."

_So flattery_ will _get me far with this one._ Ayako continued, "Besides, fights with Floor Masters are on hiatus until Battle Olympia."

Hisoka shrugged. "I can wait."

Ayako reasoned, "Wouldn't you rather have something to do? Besides, I do have the gum you want."

"What makes you think I won't just go out and buy my own?"

Ayako answered smoothly, "Because I bought every last one… in the entire world." _And put myself into serious debt because of it,_ she sighed to herself. In fact, she'd spent the rest of the money she'd borrowed for medical school on those gum packs.. but she couldn't put a price on Ako's safety.

Hisoka didn't like how the power dynamic had shifted. He had crafted the situation so carefully; he'd have to come up with a question out of left field. He thought back to the name he had seen on her phone and smiled once more. Ayako, meanwhile, narrowed her eyes in suspicion—she could hear the machinations going on in his head.

"Different topic: how do you know Illumi Zoldyck?"

Ayako's eyes shot wide open and she stared at Hisoka in fear. _How does he know that I know Illumi Zoldyck? How does he know him? Did they talk?_ Ayako stuttered, seeing the expectant look on Hisoka's face. "Wh-why did you ask me a question like that?"

Hisoka was in high spirits; he knew he had hit a soft spot. One of his new toy's greatest weaknesses was that she couldn't hide any emotions on her face. "Now, now," he said, good-humoredly reprimanding her. "That's not following the rules. I ask a question, you answer my question."

Ayako did not want to answer Hisoka's question; she remembered full well her encounter with Illumi Zoldyck, and it was an encounter she would have preferred to forget.

....................  
Zoldyck Estate, Kukuroo Mountain, 8 months earlier  
....................

Ayako still remembered the assassin's neutral stare as he listened to her tearful explanation. After she finished, silence filled the room as he assessed the notes he had taken. Beads of sweat appeared on Ayako's forehead, and she tightly gripped the varnished oak handles of the ornate, gilded chair to steady the trembling of her hands.

"Have you contacted the police, Miss Ryoka?"

"I... can't," Ayako faltered, struggling for the words. "He was doing something illegal when they took him; even if the police rescued him, he'd go to prison. Also, the Mafia owns most of the police force anyway. No policeman is going to save him."

"And neither will we."

"Can't you even consider it?"

"We are assassins, Miss Ryoka, not saviors. We don't rescue hostages. Additionally, our fee is astronomical. There is no way you could possibly afford us. Our fee is worth more than your life right now." Ayako looked incredulously into the blank, soulless eyes of the Zoldyck family's eldest son.

"I can pledge myself to the service of the Zoldyck family after I graduate from Medical school. Think of it, you'll have your own personal doctor."

"We already have healers, Miss Ryoka."

"Fine." Ayako's face was crimson with embarrassment, but she had to try. "I could... pay you in other ways."

"And in what ways would that be, Miss Ryoka?" Illumi Zoldyck's face registered no emotion, but she sensed a hint of something in his voice...Amusement? Scorn?

Ayako felt dizzy with nervousness. Here she was, going to offer herself to one of the deadliest assassins in the world! But she had to try to save Ako. As Illumi examined her blankly, she untied the only bow holding up her halter dress around her neck and let the garment fall to the floor. She had deliberately not worn any undergarments to this meeting, and she felt very naked.

"I can pay you in any way you like, Mr. Zoldyck." She had meant for her voice to come out like that of a sultry vixen, but she sounded instead like a scolded child. As the assassin examined her blankly, she crossed her arms over her breasts and looked down at the floor, her vision blurring with hot tears.

"An interesting transaction, Miss Ryoka. Your services for mine. And you think our fees are of equal value?" Illumi Zoldyck had stood then from his desk and walked around the nude Ayako, examining her like a prize horse.

A tear fell from Ayako's eye and softly melted into the lush carpet beneath her feet. He softly brushed her hair back behind her ear, causing a shiver that ran down from her neck and raised goosebumps on her arms. He suddenly grabbed her chin sharply and yanked her face up so he could inspect the shame on her tear-streaked face. "Your grief is vaguely tempting, Miss Ryoka, but you have nothing that I could possibly want." He let go of her chin after another perusal and turned to walk back to his desk. "Our consultation is over."

"Pl-please! I'll do anything you want." Ayako begged, clutching at the arm of the assassin.

Her brain barely had time to register movement before she found herself shoved harshly into the wall, one of Illumi's hands at her throat. Her formerly clutching hands frantically pulled at his fingers to release her as she gasped for air.

"I don't believe you could handle my tastes, Miss Ryoka," Illumi said tonelessly. "I'll say it again. You have nothing that I could possibly want." He watched her face change shades for a moment before releasing her. As she gasped for breath on her hands and knees, he dialed the phone at his desk and spoke in code to someone.

"Miss Ryoka, an escort will be here shortly to lead you to our gates. I recommend you clothe yourself in that time." Ayako wordlessly dressed and walked to the door. She was furious with herself for being so desperate. _He could have ended your life, you idiot—and then what would happen to Ako?_

The door opened and her escort motioned for her to follow him. As she exited through the door, Illumi spoke.

"Miss Ryoka?" She turned.

"If you value your life, I would advise you not to suddenly grab the arm of a lethal assassin."

He was right, of course. She was getting desperate, and in her desperation she was making mistakes.

Despite her initial failure to recruit Illumi, she had reached out to Leorio to see if he could recommend any other Hunters. Leorio had mentioned that one of the most powerful—albeit terrifying—individuals he'd ever met was during his Hunter exam. He was extremely reluctant to name him, though, and Ayako pressed him until he relented and named Hisoka. If she could find and convince him, Leorio admitted, she might actually stand a chance at finding Ako again.

....................  
Heaven's Arena, Hisoka's suite, present  
....................

Fast-forward eight months, and here she was, sitting naked in Hisoka's bed, clutching the sheets around her to cover her nakedness. _Why am I always naked around dangerous men?_ Ayako wondered. Ayako's face burned with humiliation, both at the memory and her current predicament.

"I think I'm speaking the truth when I say I'd rather not talk about Illumi Zoldyck with you... I don't care what...methods... of persuasion you use." She crossed her arms defiantly, eyes flashing at Hisoka and daring him to push her.

Hisoka would have loved to accept that dare, but he could hear the strain in Ayako's voice; he had reached a limit with her. "Very well, I can always call him to ask him myself."

"Go ahead," came the stony response.

Hisoka sighed. Play time was over; Hisoka could tell he had broached a subject that was, somehow, even more humiliating to Ayako than even her current situation. He would have loved to push her further, but something compelled him to back off. He didn't want to break her... not yet, anyways. She was too fun to toy with, for the time being.


	6. A Slap to Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hisoka recalls events from the past. Ayako searches for her phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up: consensual sexual acts between a teenaged minor (Hisoka) and a 28 year old adult (female, OC). I was conflicted at first about whether to include the age difference but felt it added more to my interpretation of why Hisoka is who he is. I'm also not sure what, exactly, qualifies as lemon, so when you get to the flashback, consider yourself forewarned (it's very brief).

Hisoka stalked through the hallways of Heaven's Arena, examining his prize. Never mind that he would soon be the proud owner of the (supposed) last remaining packs of Original-Flavored Bungee Gum in the world, he intended to savor every last morsel of flavor out of this piece of gum. 

As he used to do. 

Hisoka never though much in the past tense; neither did he care much for the future. Hisoka was a man firmly entrenched in the present, and he viciously, greedily savored every moment of life like a gluttonous shark taking great lunging mouthfuls from the blubbery carcass of a dead whale. 

One might argue that Hisoka hungered for the future when awaiting the ripening of his so-called 'fruits', but that assessment would be incorrect as well. His thrill came more from the delay of gratification than the actual receipt of gratification itself; the longer the delightful tingling, torturous building of anticipation, the stronger the climax into a sweet, sweet release. 

This release was sometimes, but not always, sexual; the 'final release', as he thought of it, was much more powerful than any carnal pleasures. In the moments just before the death of an opponent, Hisoka found, the eyes became particular mesmerizing: lids widening in shock, the minute calculations and sizing adjustments of the pupils sowing to a stop, and finally, the visible release of cognition from the eyes. 

Where did the cognition go, once life had left the body? Hisoka had heard something once about the continual recycling of energy, and ever after imagined that the life force became a part of _him_. As animation drained from his adversary's body, Hisoka simultaneously felt infused with a rush of vitality and energy that left him overwhelmed with rapture. 

The heady, euphoric rush of dopamine he felt at those moments--it was then that Hisoka felt truly alive. He was intensely possessive of these moments, and of the people he felt would bring him those moments. So he searched continually, perpetually bored, driven to wander by the gnawing need for the next high. 

Hisoka's usual yearnings had been quelled, however, by the unusual woman stuck in his room--stuck, because, although she didn't yet know it, the devious jester had bound Ayako's left ankle to the bed before she awoke as a deterrent to her leaving. Although she was currently searching high and low for her phone in the room, had she pursued Hisoka down the hall she would have been furious to discover she could not step past the front door. Hisoka was amused at the thought. 

He turned his thoughts from Ayako and looked again at the piece of gum inside the wrapper, suddenly ambivalent. On the one hand, he was practically salivating with desire to taste it. And yet... something was off. He felt a strange, niggling constriction in his chest. Apprehension: an emotion Hisoka had not felt for many years. 

Hisoka found a quiet hallway and rested on the floor against a marble column, much like the one he'd found Ayako next to. 

Hisoka took a small bite from the piece of Bungee Gum, as he used to do to let the experience last. Chew in small pieces. He let the sliver of gym sit in his mouth for a moment, allowing the sugar coating the outside of the gum to dissolve before chewing. That first strong burst of artificial flavors hit him with a shock like Gon's fist to his face, and Hisoka's pupils dilated with the memory of another hit he had suffered to the face, many years before. 

.....................................  
_Hisoka, Age 15, Somewhere on the outskirts of Meteor City_  
.....................................

"Talentless, ungrateful piece of shit!" The hand left an angry red imprint on Hisoka's face almost before he could react, and he looked up in mild shock from the cards he was shuffling. The surprise of the impact had caused Hisoka to reflexively swallow his last piece of Bungee Gum. Time and experience had taught him to keep his mouth shut, however, so Hisoka merely looked at the red face of the magician, willing himself to stay silent. The "Great" Danzal was drunk and belligerent, as usual. Hisoka wished he had a way of turning the cards into knives and slicing his master's hand off. 

"Who told you that you could use my deck, you insouciant miscreant?" roared the wrathful magician, smacking the other side of Hisoka's face. Hisoka's master, was a well-educated fellow, and delighted in adding insult to injury by belittling perceived inferiors with his rather extensive vocabulary. Although Hisoka practically worshipped his master's artistry and skill as an illusionist, Hisoka greatly resented Danzal's cruel streak. 

"I was just practicing, as you told me to," Hisoka shrugged. 

"Hiding in the back of the storage tent, no less!" crowed Danzal with mirth. "You knew you were stealing, you wretch." 

"No, the camp is too loud. I needed to focus, so I went somewhere quiet." 

The magician scoffed at this excuse and extended his hand to retrieve his property. Hisoka hesitated, scowling, then returned the pack of cards. The magician turned on his heel to leave. 

"You expect me to learn how to shuffle properly with pieces of paper. They're falling apart and I need..." Hisoka groused, then flinched as the magician whirled around menacingly with hand raised. 

"Excuse me, my disrespectful, good-for-nothing apprentice?" 

"I need real cards." Hisoka was standing his ground, despite shielding his face from the inevitable blow. 

"Did I just hear you complain about the free lodging and supplies I so magnanimously offer you? I ought to kick you out on the street where I found you half-dead, you ingrate." 

Hisoka remained silent. 

"If you want to become a master illusionist like myself, you will learn the way I teach you. And you will NOT touch my possessions. Got that?" 

Hisoka nodded silently so as not to provoke Danzal, but his obedience seemed to have the opposite effect of incensing him further. Danzal grabbed Hisoka by the collar and yanked him up so that they were face to face. Hisoka struggled at first, but felt a dangerous energy begin to emanate from his master's body and went limp. The magician was breathing heavily, and Hisoka could smell the sour notes of alcohol on his breath. 

"If I catch you trying to steal my possessions again, I'll make you wish you hadn't," the magician hissed. "Will you make me regret my benevolence?" 

"No," choked Hisoka. 

"No what?"

"No...master." Upon hearing Hisoka's meet response, the magician dropped his apprentice unceremoniously onto the ground, his tone changing and becoming instructional. "You want to know why I call myself _The Great_ Danzal, my rebellious protege?"

 _Because you're a pompous ass and I hate you,_ Hisoka thought bitterly, but said nothing. 

"Because I _am_ great, Hisoka. I have talents that very few people in the world possess." The magician's eyes gleamed and he held up a finger. 

"That's the _one_ thing that matters in this world, Hisoka. Talent. Talentless people amount to nothing in life. They accomplish nothing and they amount to nothing; not worth spending the time of day on. Does history remember talentless people?"

"No, master."

"That's right, boy. So you strive to become talented. That's why you're here, learning from me. With practice and a lot of luck, you might actually find your talent. And even if you don't, you can always just kill off the competition so it makes you look more talented in comparison." He chuckled to himself at his own joke. 

"Have you ever done that, master?" 

Danzal stopped laughing and looked at the boy, whose amber eyes had gone hard. 

"Done what, boy?" 

"Have you ever killed off your competition to appear more talented," Hisoka responded evenly, staring boldly into the eyes of his master. 

Danzal could have easily overpowered Hisoka, but the look in the boy's eyes unnerved him. The magician narrowed his eyes and stalked to the front of the tent. "Worthless thieving apprentice," he sniffed, before exiting with a flourish of his velvet cape. Hisoka wanted to strangle him with that damned silly cape, but he kept his mouth shit and took out a small stack of scrap papers. They were faded and torn, but they served as a makeshift deck of cards. He began to shuffle them with one hand. The papers bent and folded every which way, refusing to compromise with his ministrations. 

In a sudden, uncharacteristic fit of anger, he tore his makeshift cards to pieces. Scrap papers wouldn't teach him how to shuffle a deck of cards, much less learn any sleight of hand. _Danzal is holding me back on purpose,_ he thought. He'd steal a deck of cards (and another pack of Bungee Gum) the next time they passed through a town. 

..........................................................................

A woman's hand lifted the flap of the tent and Hisoka tensed in fear when he saw its owner. Lei'lah was one of the prostitutes who traveled regularly with the magician's troupe. She was the most beautiful woman Hisoka thought he had ever seen. She was also his master Danzal's mistress, and Danzal protected her with an insane jealousy. Loose-lipped Ramodo had gleefully informed Hisoka of the disappearance of the last man Lei'lah had fixated with her lusty stare, and Hisoka was ever after skittish in her presence, although he was quite happy to watch her from afar. 

The curvaceous woman before him wore light, baggy linen pants slouched dangerously low on her hips with a sleeveless, form-fitting linen top. The light of the linen contrasted neatly against the caramel tones of her skin, accentuating a glimpse of navel. She wore an air of confidence that fit her even better than her clothing; Lei'lah gained said confidence that fit her even better than her clothing; Lei'lah gained said confidence from a beauty that granted access to many closed doors and a survival instinct sharp enough to know to plan ahead for beauty's eventual fade. 

Hisoka thought he could be in love. He also felt like he might die, although for some reason that excited him further. He sat, rooted to his seat with fear and lust warring in his eyes.

Lei'lah examined the teen with mild amusement. She was intrigued by the young man in front of her. He had a lithe, thinly-muscled form, and, although he rarely spoke in camp, when he did speak his voice was melodic in a way like hers that belied a sensual nature. She believed very much in spiritual energies, and although she knew naught of Nen she had an acute sense for the potential of a soul. 

In this frightened adolescent before her, Lei'lah could sense a flower bud waiting to unfurl its petals, a sweet fruit waiting to ripen. She sensed dormant greatness, and she wanted to waken it. Her sensuous lips pulled back in a grin, revealing perfect white teeth. With a smoky voice as velvety as the extravagant cape of The Great Danzal, she asked, "You alright?" 

She smelled like cloves and cardamom. "Y-yes," Hisoka stuttered, and hated himself for it. 

"Let me see your face," she commanded. 

Hisoka turned away in shame, but she grabbed his chin and pulled it to her, examining the offended areas and tutting under her breath. She pulled out a tiny jar from her back pocket and dipped two fingers into the container. 

"Aloe," she explained. "The sand here dries and cuts my feet."

The young Hisoka was equally euphoric and frantic at her soothing touch. He closed his eyes and tried to will his fluttering heartbeat to slow, to stop even.

"Dani is hard on you," Lei'lah observed. "He thinks you have great talent." 

"He does?" Hisoka opened his eyes and looked at her, surprised. 

"Yes. He is also a little jealous of you, I think." 

Hisoka closed his eyes again, music as the fingers softly massaged the pain out of his abused skin. _Maybe he is trying to hold me back._ "Why do you think that?"

"He is hard on any protege who he thinks is talented. He wants you to become great. Be he also doesn't like too much competition. He is harder on you than the others; I see this." 

"Others?" This was a revelation to Hisoka. 

"Yes, I have been here since I was a little girl. I have seen Dani take on many apprentices; few lasted. He is the hardest on you, though. I think he sees your potential." 

"Maybe," Hisoka responded warily. _What if this is a test,_ he thought. _A test of my loyalty. But would Danzal allow her to touch me like this?_

"Do you want to become a great magician like Dani?" Lei'lah asked suddenly, her chin pulling Hisoka's face to face her own. Hisoka blinked at the grey eyes that met his; for the warmth of the rest of her, Hisoka realized these eyes were cold and calculating. 

"I plan to be the greatest magician in the world," Hisoka answered earnestly, his voice strengthened by resolve. "I will be the most talented of them all." 

Most in the camp laughed at Hisoka when he voiced this belief, Danzal loudest of all. He steeled himself for Lei'lah's mockery, pulling his face away from her curious gaze. "I think you will, too," Lei'lah responded matter-of-factly. 

The youth's eyes widened and he turned back to stare at the woman sitting next to him with renewed adoration. Lei'lah could feel the petals of this flower tremble and stretch. She felt a hot quiver of lust inside of her for this young man with the angular face. She found his innocence particularly enchanting. _So much potential, and Dani is holding him back._ She knew Dani would be furious if he found out, but she couldn't help herself. 

"I think I know a way to help you grow...as a performer. Do you want to know?" Lei'lah licked her lips indelicately, and Hisoka flushed as he nodded. 

"All great performers need a release, love, to flush out and renew their creative energies," _Love? Did she call me love?_ Hisoka was so focused on her word choice that he did not realize Lei'lah had moved closer to him. "Do you know what I do to help Dani release his energies before a show?" 

"No, what?"

"I'll show you," Lei'lah whispered, as she grasped his chin again and raised his mouth to hers. As Hisoka wrestled with indecision, her tongue snaked out and licked his lips before he could react. Lei'lah grinned at the sudden intake of breath. 

"I don't understand," stated a suddenly cotton-mouthed Hisoka. Suddenly his mouth became as the sands of Meteor City; the radiant goddess before him an oasis to quench his thirst. He fervently hoped this was not a mirage. 

It wasn't. Lei'lah's hands quickly went to his lap and began to massage. She smirked, realizing a certain part of the young man was already standing at attention. "Consider this part of your training." She leaned over, releasing him from the confines of his pants. 

"Ohhh, you are already an enchanter, my Hisoka," Lei'lah gave a throaty laugh. "I will have no trouble training you." 

"But... Lei'l-unh.." Hisoka's eyes rolled in the back of his head as her soft, wet lips enveloped him and he forgot all about the wrath of Danzal and the Vanishing Act. His fingers frantically grasped the ground for purchase as fireworks exploded in front of his eyes and all he could conceptualize was a kaleidoscopic haze of color. 

..............................................................................  
_Heaven's Arena, Hallway, Present Day_  
..............................................................................

Hisoka blinked and shifted uncomfortably where he was sitting. The sliver of gum he had chewed had lost its flavor. Perhaps it _was_ time for a drink. He'd head back to that pub--Angel's Trumpet--and get an Ambrosia Ale.


	7. Coming to Terms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hisoka makes a proposition.

_Hisoka, Angel's Trumpet_  
........................................................................................................

"What'll you have, sir?"

"Your special."

"Pint of Ambrosia Ale, coming up!" 

The bartender set the draft in front of him with a satisfying clink: it was a finely-foamed, dark amber color. The man waited expectantly as Hisoka took a sip.

It was actually surprisingly good. Hisoka raised his glass slightly with a nod to the bartender and tipped him, then walked into the back corner of the room and sat at a vacant table. Hisoka was glad, for once, that we was wearing normal street clothes and no face makeup. Right now, he felt like blending into the crows. He could tell he was receiving more than a few admiring glances from the beer maidens, which normally would have made him preen, but he had more important things to do than flirt. 

He took out the remaining piece of Bungee Gum and examined it broodingly. Recalling memories tended to be evanescent and misty, with some moments clearer than others, and most senses dulled. 

Never before had he experienced such a vivid flashback: he had smelled the horse shit that permeated the camp, and the incense sticks everyone burned to rid themselves of the smell; he had felt the sting of the slap, and the mellow coolness of the aloe salve Lei'lah rubbed into his abused skin. He had driven these memories deep down into his subconscious, but now they came roaring back with a vengeance. 

Had Ayako rubbed some sort of hallucinogen or poison onto the gum? He wouldn't be surprised; she certainly seemed more resourceful than she looked. One person would know for certain, and he had a few questions for him anyways. 

"I'm busy, Hisoka." The voice on the other end lacked patience. 

"Always so busy, Illumi," Hisoka grinned. "Remember our conversation a few months ago? You mentioned a rather interesting side hobby detailing your experiments with brain control." 

"Yes, what of it?" Illumi sounded vaguely more interested. 

"Do you use hallucinogens or poisons in your experiments?" 

"Not generally. Needles and acupuncture, mostly, although in the beginning I did examine the effects of various hallucinogens. Poisons are more Milluki's repertoire. Are you looking for information on anything specific?" 

"Are there any drugs that can make you remember things?" Hisoka asked. "Really vividly, as if you're re-living the experience." 

"The poisons I am familiar with have more to do with making people experience horror and stretching them to the ultimate limits of their psyche. There is no hallucinogen or poison that I know of that make people re-live experiences vividly. Many hallucinations are formed by the subconscious blending memories, but these memories are more cloudy than stable, as you describe."

"I had some specifically powerful flashbacks. I felt like I was reliving the experience." 

"Sleeping or waking?"

"I was awake." 

"Were there any external stimuli that may have triggered this experience?" Illumi's tone had become calculating. 

"Well, I ate something immediately before." 

"The brain is a very powerful muscle. Perhaps there were certain pleasure or pain chemicals your brain released upon contact with the food you ate that triggered your memory."

"Perhaps," muttered Hisoka, not entirely convinced.

"While I don't have any drugs that could help you, if you want to explore these memories further, I do know some acupuncture techniques that could stimulate your cerebral cortex with some lightly applied electrical pulses." Illumi had trouble masking his enthusiasm. 

"I'm fine, doctor, thank you," replied Hisoka with a smirk. No was was he going to let a needle-happy assassin poke about in his grey matter. 

"Well," responded Illumi, considerably more distant, "the offer stands if you change your mind. Now, if there's nothing else--" 

"--I'm calling about another matter, as well." 

"...Naturally. What is it?" 

"I need you to tell me what you know about Ayako Ryoka." 

A pause on the other end of the line. "I've never heard of that name." 

"Come now," Hisoka cajoled, "There's obviously a reason why I'm asking; I know you know her, or I wouldn't have asked. She had a consultation with you, yes?"

"I'm not at liberty to say." 

"My friend, if she had signed a contract with you she wouldn't be here with me now. You have no need to uphold confidentiality."

"If this conversation is to continue," Illumi responded curtly, "We first discuss price." 

Hisoka rolled his eyes. Illumi was so predictable sometimes. "Go ahead." 

Illumi named a price that made Hisoka's eyes crinkle with a pained pleasure. "Ohhh, Illumi-san, that almost hurts. I should consider switching professions; you're more expensive than my healer." 

"You're not discreet enough for this profession." While Illumi was always strictly matter-of-fact, Hisoka swore he could sense a hint of levity in the voice of his emotionally-stunted friend. "Do we have a deal?" 

"Give me your information and I'll wire the money now. But I want all the details." 

"That is what you are paying for." 

Illumi recounted how a young woman had arrived at the entrance to the Zoldyck Estate, claiming she wanted to book an appointment with one of the famed Zoldycks. The gate guard had initially turned her away, but her dogged persistence intrigued Illumi to have her escorted to the butler's residence where they sometimes hosted their more clandestine consultations. This location was specifically chosen because Milluki could record and inspect footage to find evidence of espionage. Any discovered spies were then turned over to Mike. 

"Did she offer you anything...special... as payment?" Hisoka asked, partly out of curiosity to see the extent of Ayako's research skills, partly because he wanted to know if Illumi had a weakness for a rare item much like Hisoka did for his Bungee Gum. 

"What do you mean?" Illumi feigned ignorance. 

"Exactly what I asked." Hisoka knew he was onto something. 

"If you must know, she disrobed and offered herself to me during the consultation as a method of payment for the service. It was rather...unexpected." The tone of Illumi's voice had changed imperceptibly. If Hisoka didn't know any better, he almost sounded slightly embarrassed. 

"Really?" Hisoka mused. He thought back to the scarlet-cheeked pixie in his bed, desperately clutching and swaddling the sheets around her to protect her modesty. The woman had less shame than he had supposed. _I could have pushed her farther._ Then he felt a slight sting of jealousy. His new toy had offered herself to Illumi and not to him. "Did you take her up on her offer?" 

"No, although I found myself tempted." 

Although Hisoka didn't much like to share his toys, his possessive feeling was tempered by his interest in the inner workings of Illumi's mind. _Have I discovered a weakness?_

Illumi's voice interrupted his machinations. "If there is nothing more you wish to know..."

"How did your consultation end, once you had turned her down?" Hisoka asked abruptly. _There was more to her reaction than just humiliation. Something else happened._

"She grabbed my arm and asked me to reconsider." 

"What happened?"

"I enclosed my fingers around her neck and pushed her into the wall, then told her to leave." Illumi's breathing pattern had altered very slightly, but Hisoka recognized the tell immediately. 

Hisoka's expression became wicked with glee. "That sounds like a breach of conduct, Illumi-san. And you're normally so proper! Do you usually assault potential clients during their consultations?"

Illumi ignored the jibe. "I'm not at liberty to discuss other consultations."

"I'm going to assume that you don't. Why did you assault her? She merely grabbed your arm. Meanwhile, Gon literally broke your arm when he last saw you, and you didn't react." 

"Gon wasn't naked and defenseless." Hisoka closed his eyes in delight at hearing that sentence. 

"A moment of weakness, then, my sadistic friend?" 

"As I said, she looked very tempting."

Hisoka digested this new information. "Why didn't you act on it?" 

"I did not wish to entangle myself in an indelicate situation." Illumi withheld the fact that he had paid Milluki three times the normal amount of a job to keep all copies of the recordings of that consultation. 

Illumi also failed to mention that he had very much enjoyed watching and re-watching the footage nearly every night that he wasn't working a job. Hisoka wasn't paying nearly enough money to wrest _that_ information from his lips, however. 

Hisoka scoffed. "It sounds like you've put some thought into this." 

"Only when re-telling you the details that you asked for." Illumi responded flippantly. "Is that all you wish to know?" 

"Not quite. I have a proposition for you." 

"I've told you once and I'll tell you again, Hisoka. I'm neither inclined to fight you nor fu--"

"--Not that," Hisoka interrupted dismissively. "I have a proposition for you regarding Miss Ryoka." 

"Oh?" Illumi kept his voice studiously neutral. It wasn't difficult. 

"You mentioned that she told you of the abduction of her brother, Ako." 

"Yes." 

"And what of his abductors?"

"She seems to think the Mafia is responsible."

"What is her opinion of the situation?" Hisoka asked. 

"I have no opinion. Her matter does not concern me." 

"It might."

"Might it?"

"I could make it your matter."

"She got to you, then." 

"Hardly," scoffed Hisoka. "I have my own reasons for pursuing this matter." 

"Alright," came the disinterested response. "Well, I have business to attend to, Hisoka, so I must go." 

"Wait, friend. Don't you want to know how I make this your matter?" 

"You know the only way this becomes my matter." 

"I'll write you a blank check." 

No response. Had he actually surprised the assassin? 

After a pause, Illumi spoke slowly. "I would say this is uncharacteristic of you, Hisoka. Either that, or you have a vested interest in this girl." 

"We won't discuss my personal investment in this matter." 

"And what kind of involvement do you need from me?" asked Illumi. 

"Surveillance, intel-gathering, and elimination of key components as needed, from afar." 

"You sound as though you already have a plan." 

"Not a full plan, but I have a theory," Hisoka admitted. "If you agree to sign on, I'll tell you everything I know." 

Illumi considered this. "No blank check. I'll tell you my price, and if you can't handle it, I'll walk." 

"Fair enough."

Illumi named a price that made Hisoka's eyes crinkle once again with a pained delight. "Ohhh, Illumi-san, I love it when you talk dirty to me." 

..............................................................................  
 _Ayako, Heaven's Arena, Hisoka's suite_  
..............................................................................

After her search for her phone bore no fruit, Ayako picked up the room phone and dialed 0 for Reception. She needed the number to her university in order to reach Leorio, and didn't have the means of looking it up. A knock came as she was writing down the number on the pad next to the phone. She quietly thanked the receptionist and hung up, her heart racing as she listened to the voice on the other side of the door requesting entrance. 

"Mr. Hisoka? I have the clothes you ordered to be laundered. May I come in and deliver them?"

 _Oh god, not Remy._ Ayako hesitated. The knock became more insistent. "Hello? Mr. Hisoka? I'm just going to come in and place them on the bed." 

"No, wait--" Ayako leapt at the door to close it, but it swung open before she could reach the safety latch. Remy dropped her pile of neatly-folded laundry in comic surprise. 

" _You!_ " Remy snarled. "What are you doing in this room? How did you get in?" 

"Well..." Ayako shrugged. "I was invited in." 

"I highly doubt that," Remy said, annoyed. Ayako doubted he would believe the truth anyways. "I think you broke in." 

"I didn't!" 

"And what's more, I have a good idea who caused the fire alarm to go off!" He strode into the room angrily, grabbing her wrist tightly and yanking her towards the entrance. Ayako yelped in pain and struggled away, but his grip was vise-like. 

"Agh! That hurts; let me go!" Ayako stomped on Remy's foot as hard as she could. "How dare you!"

Remy grunted in pain. "I'm taking you -oof- with me to -ow- Security." 

"Like hell you are! Get off!" Ayako kneed Remy in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain. She started to run towards the bathroom, but he tripped her, causing her to stumble. He roughly grabbed her right arm and pulled her backwards towards the door. 

Ayako may have been petite, but she wasn't going to give up without a fight, even though Remy far outmatched her in weight and strength. As they reached the door she grabbed the doorjamb with her left hand and refused to let go. Remy pulled viciously, trying to force her to lose her grip, but she kicked out wildly behind her with her right leg, aiming for his sensitive region. To counteract this, Remy bear-hugged her from behind and pinned her arms to her sides, picking her up. Ayako struggled and screeched, kicking her feet as Remy dragged her over the door threshold. 

Then Remy encountered unexpected resistance. Both he and Ayako looked in surprise at Ayako's foot, which seemed to be attached to some invisible rope; it refused to allow Ayako's foot to pass over the doorway. Remy pulled harder, but Ayako's foot still wouldn't pass. _This must be the Bungee Gum Nen ability that Leorio warned me about!_ Although she was slightly annoyed that Hisoka had effectively imprisoned her in the suite, she was momentarily glad for his lack of trust... or whatever had compelled him to attach his glue-like Nen to her foot. 

Sweating with the exertion, Remy heaved harder, trying to detach Ayako from the invisible adhesive. "What the hell is this?" he panted.

..............................................................................

"I could ask the same thing," came an unamused voice from the end of the hallway. Before Remy and Ayako could turn, a thin projectile whistled through the air and left a thin, red line on Remy's cheek before thudding solidly into the wall. Clutching his bleeding cheek, Remy abruptly dropped Ayako, who cursed as the shock jarred both her behind and her injured head. Remy turned and blanched at the sight of the jester, who was standing at the end of the hallway with a pair of aces in each hand. 

Ayako looked also, and shuddered at the sight of Hisoka's handsome features, now marred by a cruel bloodlust. She felt pity for her adversary, who had pressed his body against the wall and seemed as if he would shrink into it, if he had the ability. 

"Why are you forcibly removing this woman from my room?" Hisoka asked, advancing on the pair. "She obviously doesn't want you to touch her." 

Remy's eyes were like saucers. "His-hisoka-san, I apologize for my behavior!" he stuttered and bowed awkwardly, nose practically touching the floor in deference. He was sweating even more profusely. "Puh-please forgive me." 

Hisoka sneered. "Leave us. If we order room service, send someone else in your place." 

"Yes sir.. Th-thank you sir," Remy couldn't scramble away quickly enough. 

Ayako and Hisoka both watched him go. When the elevator bell signaled his departure, Ayako turned shyly back to Hisoka. "Thank you." 

Hisoka, frowning slightly, walked past her wordlessly into the suite. Ayako stood, one hand rubbing her head and the other rubbing her behind, and followed him. "Uh, I appreciated your gum in the moment, but could you-uh-take it off me now?" 

Hisoka, still ignoring her, walked into the bathroom and shut the door. Ayako, puzzled, walked to hte door and knocked. "Hisoka? Do you know where my phone is?" No answer. "Seriously? You're still ignoring me?" The shower water began running, and she signed, knocking the door with persistence. "Helloooooooo....." She balled up her fist and prepared to hit the door more firmly; as she did, the door opened to a shirtless, toweled Hisoka. Ayako felt her face flood with heat as she looked appreciatively at his solidly muscled figure. 

Hisoka raised an eyebrow. "You want to join me?" 

Ayako blushed and looked away demurely. "No, I just--"

"Then wait," came the stony response as he shut the door in her face. 

Ayako went back to the bed and sat in a huff. _Asshole,_ she thought. _Is her really going to be this hard to work with?_

..............................................................................

Hisoka leaned into the shower, increasing the heat until steam clouds billowed around the room. He disrobed and stood in front of the mirror, examining himself sans makeup or clothing. Usually he admired and flexed, but this time he was pensive. 

Once the mirror had fogged to sufficiently blur his image, he reached out and rubbed at the condensation on the mirror, tracing an unsmiling stick figure adorned with teardrop and star onto his cheeks. He added fangs onto the mouth, horns atop the head, and claws on the hands. 

Hisoka looked at his creation for a few moments, lost in thought, before smirking and tracing a disproportionately large erection onto the figure. Rolling his eyes at himself, he got into the shower and stood in the water, allowing his mind to clear as the water caressed him. 

Possessiveness towards his toys was a normal, healthy emotion for Hisoka, but he had felt a peculiar constriction in his chest when he saw Ayako struggling in the arms of the angry hotelier. His mind was in a jumble. He pushed the thoughts away and rested his forehead against the cool tile of the shower. 

Something about this girl baffled, frustrated, and intoxicated him. Was it the fact that she had rejected him and offered herself to Illumi? Was it the uncanny coincidence that she found the Bungee Gum flavor from his youth? Was it the memory of Lei'lah? He wasn't certain. All he knew was, he was confused. He suddenly, desperately had a craving to finish the remainder of that piece of Bungee Gum.


	8. Haunted, Part 1

**Chapter 8: Haunted, Part I**

* * *

Although he would have disagreed with the semantics of this description, Hisoka treated the shower as a kind of spiritual catharsis, where he cleansed his mind and body when the ghosts of the past nagged too loudly in his ear. Today was no exception.

Hisoka remained in stasis, head resting against the shower tiles, for over two hours. By the time he emerged from the bathroom, Ayako had fallen asleep sitting up in bed, with a book in her hands. From the look of it, she had apparently ordered a bottle of wine from bottle service, and had finished off the entire bottle by herself. Hisoka picked the book out of her hands and placed it next to her teddy bear backpack on the table, where he noticed another open, untouched bottle of wine sitting with a note at its base.

 _'Drink me,'_ it read. _'Maybe it'll help you stop being such a tightass.-Ayako ^.^ P.S. I waited-you paid.'_ Hisoka picked up the bottle to reveal the receipt, and quirked an eyebrow when he noted that she had indeed billed his account.

Hisoka smirked and shot a look at the pixie-haired girl, who was now snoring loudly. "Trying to get me drunk, hmm?" He wasn't a heavy drinker, and he'd already had a pint of Ambrosia Ale at the pub, but what the hell-he had already paid for the wine. He poured himself an overly full glass and sipped slowly after putting on a pair of silky pajama pants with red and cream stripes, and looked out at the lights of the city below him. After finishing the first, he poured himself another. He turned to look at Ayako.

"I'll admit, you intrigue me," he said, addressing the sleeping woman. "And I can't figure out why. You have no Nen talent to speak of, so fighting you would be absolutely worthless." He turned to look at Ayako, who had slumped over and begun to drool onto the pillow. He curled a disdainful lip at her and turned towards the window. "Although you certainly know how to get under my skin. Not many can do that."  _Not many would_ dare _to do that,_ he thought. "That's not exactly a talent, though."

Hisoka finished off his large glass with a few gulps. He shuddered involuntarily, then poured himself another and began to pace about the room, enjoying the sound of his own voice. "And you throw yourself at one of the deadliest assassins in history, but even though you find me utterly breathtaking to look at-which I don't blame you for-you act as though you're afraid to touch me." He paused, then smiled wickedly. "Though I can't blame you for that, either." 

To distract his mind from the frustrating woman, Hisoka reached for his deck of cards and started to build a pyramid. Although he had performed this activity so many times it was nearly robotic, he found himself distracted, and couldn't seem to steady his hands. He gave up after the third try in favor of his wine glass.

As an infrequent drinker, Hisoka's breakneck drinking pace made him feel as though the alcohol would catch up to him soon. He sat in a chair, pulling his feet up to sit cross-legged, and eyed Ayako suspiciously. Physiological attraction to an ordinary woman was normal, but, truth be told, Hisoka found himself more attractive than any other pretty face. The ones he really lusted after were the powerful ones. This woman didn't even register a number on his power-radar. And yet...

Hisoka felt his face flush, partly from the wine, partly from uncharacteristic embarrassment. "What's so special about you anyways, Ayako Ryoka?" Hisoka asked resentfully.

If he was to be honest with himself (an uncommon occurrence), he didn't really know what he was doing with Ayako. While he enjoyed and had no trouble seducing women, and basked in the attention-positive or otherwise-from others, he much preferred the simplicity of solitude. While alone, he could make up his own mind about things. He didn't have to compromise or argue. He created and lived by his own rules, sans the pull of loyalty or ethics. Simple was good.

In fact, that was why he enjoyed Gon so much. Gon was simple, straightforward, honest. A clear Enhancer; the very opposite of his personality.

Ayako meanwhile, was... well, he couldn't quite put his finger on her personality. This morning, he thought he'd had her all figured out, but after talking to Illumi, he wasn't so sure.  _Is it all an act?_ He thought back to her tongue, snaking out to capture that piece of popped bubblegum off her lip.

 _Why do I even care?_ Suddenly frustrated, he picked up the wine bottle and finished it off, slamming it back on the table solidly.

Ayako stirred at the noise and opened a bleary eye at Hisoka. "You...watching me?" she mumbled sleepily.

"Yes. Go back to sleep," ordered Hisoka.

"Uhummmm...Creeper," she yawned, turning over and falling asleep again immediately.

Hisoka narrowed his eyes, but did not respond. He finished the bottle of wine and set it on the table, then ran his fingers through his uncombed hair and sighed with frustration.

The shower hadn't helped him clear his mind, and the wine had only exacerbated the cacophony in his head. He had to maintain control of the situation. To quiet his mind, at the very least. He hadn't felt like himself ever since the flashback earlier in the day.

Hisoka walked over to the spacious bed, careful not to disturb the sleeping Ayako. He positioned himself carefully atop the covers and closed his eyes, fighting away the sudden waves of drunken vertigo that washed over him by breathing through his mouth. As his breathing slowed, he fell into a restless, fitful sleep.

* * *

_Hisoka, 14, Meteor City_

* * *

Hisoka was dying; he was sure of it. He had had a few close calls before, but this time he felt certain of his impending death. In moments of desperation, he had eaten any number of spurious items from the streets, but this time he knew for sure that he had eaten something poisonous. Rat poison, most likely; this latest meal had come straight from the mouth of a large sewer rat.

He at first had tried to capture the sewer rat, although in his weakened state he was too slow. He lunged, and the startled rat dropped its loot and darted into the nearest grate. From behind the safety of rusted bars, the rat chittered angrily at him with bared fangs, daring the boy to make a second attempt.

Hisoka opted for the refuse. It was mostly bland, with a slight aftertaste of mold and something else that he couldn't quite place. It burned the inside of his mouth slightly as he ate and swallowed, although by that point he had been too hungry to be suspicious of the prickling sensation on his tongue.

As the adrenaline of the hunt faded, weakness from hunger overtook him, and he decided to stretch out next to the grate. The rat was watching him warily; although Hisoka had heard of hungry rats attacking the homeless as they slept, he felt a sense of kinship with the animal. As he closed his eyes for a brief nap, he heard the rat give out a hacking cough.  _Furball, no doubt,_  he thought as he drifted aimlessly between sleep and waking.

* * *

The cramps woke him; a searing pain that made him gasp as he regained consciousness, clutching his stomach. Through blurred eyes, he looked into the grate. The lifeless eyes of his former adversary stared back at him, and Hisoka knew he was next. He turned onto his side and vomited a bloody, bitter bile. He felt a fuzziness in his head; for a moment he entertained the idea of sleep. A strong instinctual drive for survival compelled him to stir, however, and he rose to his elbows shakily.

What happened next was hazy. Hisoka knew he crawled on all fours at some point. As he emerged from the alley, waves of sound assaulted his ears: the cheers and whistles of an audience in the area. Some traveling troupe was performing, no doubt. He could hear an actor announcing some message, although his words were garbled. The audience laughed; the boy reeled.

Everything was burning, burning. The blinding sun blistered his eyes and hands and knees, and the young Hisoka screamed in pain as the cobblestones underneath him erupted into flame, although what really came out of his tortured throat was a piteous, inhuman moan.

He wavered where he kneeled on all fours, spitting out random bits of gore as they rose in his mouth. Consciousness felt like he was drowning in a murky pond, one from which he could barely resurface for gasps of air. Nobody bothered to stop and check on the street urchin, dying in the street from rat poison. Saving his life would be a financial inconvenience no one could afford. The boy's arms gave out, unable to hold him, and the crack of his jaw into the pavement reverberated hollowly in his skull. Everything slowed, stretched, lengthened, melted. The boy was melting too, he could feel it. Soon he would melt into and become part of everything else: a new beginning. He felt a sudden serenity in the thought, and waited patiently for release.


	9. Haunted, Part 2

* * *

_Ayako, Heaven's Arena, Hisoka's Room_

* * *

Someone was knocking at the door. Ayako struggled to rouse herself from the bed, stifling a yawn as she looked to the expansive windows. It was clearly the middle of the night. Mouth suddenly dry, she got up and padded quietly over to the door. Who could it be? Perhaps Remy had returned to try and evict her from Heaven's Arena... but in the dead of night? She looked towards the bathroom door; she could still hear the running water.  _Hisoka must still be in the shower,_ she thought. As she approached the door, the knocking became more insistent, faster-paced. Ayako hesitated, suddenly nervous. The knocking stopped as she did so. In the ensuing silence, pinpricks of gooseflesh rose on Ayako's arms.

Then the scratching started. Light at first, like a fingernail. No, it was sharper, something digging into the wood of the door, carving it. It sounded like a needle-

 _Or a pin_ , came the unbidden thought. Ayako shuddered involuntarily at the thought.

The scratching became louder, hungrier. It was furious that it couldn't get in, taking its anger out on the door. Slashes that were meant for her.

The scratching stopped, and a letter emerged from under the door. Nervously, Ayako bent to pick it up. She turned it over. The writer had penned the message with an angry hand; the page was torn in places from the force of the pen.

I HAVE AKO.

Hatred overcame fear momentarily, and Ayako crumpled the paper. She ran to the door and slammed her fist against it, cursing herself for not being stronger.  _If I had Nen_ , she thought,  _I would rip you limb from limb until you gave up my brother._

Ayako had a sudden morbid desire to visualize her brother's captor and peeked into the viewfinder...

...Nothing. The hallway was completely empty, save for a lone, tattered cardboard box on the other side of the hallway directly opposite of the door.

 _What is this?,_  she wondered.  _Should I ask Hisoka to help me?_ She waited for a good long minute, peering wildly around the area through the viewfinder. No, it appeared that the presence had left.  _Still,_  she thought, glancing back at the bathroom door,  _perhaps it is better to be safe..._ But did she really want to disturb Hisoka in the shower again?

 _Woman up, Ayako_ , she reprimanded herself.  _If you can't get the box, how are you ever going to be brave enough to rescue Ako?_  She went back to her backpack and ripped open the seams of the bear head once again; she reached in and retrieved a slim folded knife, small but sharp. Her brother had left it behind, and although she wasn't very good at wielding it, it had proved handy in a pinch. At the very least, it made her feel safer, and she would be able to open the box more quickly if it was taped shut.

She went back to the door, gathering courage to open it.  _Ok, one, two,_ she counted in her head.  _Three!_

Ayako flung open the door with a war cry and leapt at the box, adrenaline coursing through her body. She had counted on the Bungee Gum holding her back from the threshold, but Hisoka must have removed it, so she overestimated her strength and instead crashed into the opposite wall, the door closing firmly behind her.  _Well, shit,_ she thought, rubbing her elbow.  _Might as well open it now_... With a trembling hand she slashed at the tape holding the box closed and opened the flaps.

Empty. Ayako blinked in surprise, before noticing the folded sheet of paper at the bottom of the empty box. She grabbed the note slowly and opened.

NOW I HAVE YOU.

Ayako's head whipped back to the closed door, and her mind went blank with shock when she saw the words roughly carved into it from before.

TOO LATE.

The air suddenly thickened with dark intent. Something menacing was approaching from around the corner, and it intended to have her. To consume her. Ayako slammed herself into the door to the room and pounded on the door, frantically pleading for Hisoka to open the door. No response, and the door did not budge. She would have to run. Ayako turned and fled down the hallway, away from the unseen horror.

"Somebody help me! Please!" No response.  _Where was everybody?_

The stairs! She would run for the stairs and get down to the lobby, somehow. The arena personnel would be there; they could protect her.

As she ran, the lights illuminating the hallway began to flicker and dim, as if by candllelight. Suddenly, the lights were extinguished. Confused by the sudden blackness, Ayako tripped over herself and fell roughly, gracelessly, onto the ground. Her head injury ached as she fell, but fear spurred her to struggle up onto her knees. She could sense the menace approaching, but was completely blinded by the lack of light. She scrambled frantically to get up.

A thin cord wrapped itself around her ankle and pulled her back to the ground.

The lack of sight made her capture all the more terrifying. Ayako screamed, clawing at the carpeting to try and free herself. Failing, she flipped her brother's knife open and started to saw frantically at the restraints around her ankle. She could suddenly feel tendrils of the same cord wrapping itself around the wrist of her knife-wielding hand; it secured itself, pulled taut, and pinioned her onto the ground. Ayako struggled, but to no avail.

Hot tears of frustration and fear streamed from Ayako's eyes as she struggled against the cord. She froze, hearing the presence standing at her feet. It sniffed the air, and her blood ran cold as a voice whispered. "This is how I like you..." A familiar voice whispered. "Completely defenseless. Now you will truly give yourself to me." Ayako gasped as hands encircled her neck and began to tighten.

* * *

_Ayako, Heaven's Arena, Hisoka's Suite_

* * *

"NO!" Ayako's eyes flew open and she sat straight up in bed, hands at her neck, heart pounding in her throat. Now that she was truly awake from the grips of her nightmare, despite realizing she was completely safe she still felt a visceral panic, a rush of adrenaline coursing through her body. Although her brief encounter with Illumi Zoldyck had not had much effect on her waking life, Ayako had suffered from particularly intense nightmares ever since, mostly revolving around being strangled.

Her brain sensed movement, and she looked over with crazed eyes at the intruder in her bed, preparing to leap out of harm's way in a moment. Then she realized it was Hisoka, sleeping next to her. He was also in the grips of some nightmare, it seemed: his brow was furrowed and he was twitching.

Ayako sighed with a shudder of relief, then felt an immediate embarrassment.  _Why is he in bed with me? Then again, why wouldn't he be in bed with me? It's_ his _bed._  She supposed she hadn't thought much about the logistics of the sleeping arrangements before.  _Well, that's not entirely true, now is it, Ayako?_ her conscience prodded, and Ayako's cheeks burned with the realization that she had rather passively chosen to ignore the logistics of the sleeping arrangements, preferring instead to tempt Fate.

For a moment, Ayako felt slight shame at her own presumptive behavior. True, he had taken some liberties with the mind games, and the physical restraint on her ankle, and she was not a fan of his moodiness, but... Isn't that precisely what she had expected? She had one purpose here, and she had accomplished it: he had accepted her proposal to help Ako. No matter her personal issues with the jester, she would have to put up with his behavior. For Ako.

She got out of bed to use the bathroom, wincing at the cold touch of the porcelain, and continued her musings with a sleep-muddled mind.

He had been rather accommodating, despite her obvious manipulations and scheming. He didn't have to buy her breakfast, take care of her head injury, or even have her clothes dry-cleaned (the fact that he had undressed and bathed her in order to launder said clothes was something she was staunchly not ready to acknowledge).

When Ayako had first heard about the temperamental jester from Leorio, she had been fully prepared to dislike him, even though she knew he could be an asset in her search for her brother. But now, she wasn't quite sure what to think. She thought of Hisoka's lithe, muscled body once again, and shivered in spite of herself.

She finished up in the bathroom and walked back into the suite, pausing for a moment as her eyes adjusted to the blackness of the room. She peered owlishly into the dark at the empty wine bottle and glass on the table where Hisoka had sat.  _Guess he had a few, after all._  She wondered how he would react to her in the morning.  _For someone so smooth when I first met him, he sure knows how to make a situation awkward. I wonder what happened after he left._

She heard a sudden odd noise coming from a corner of the room, and stiffened, trying to make out the source of the sound. It was coming, she realized, from the bed. Suddenly, Hisoka began to convulse and shake, hands gripping blindly at the sheets beneath him, and Ayako yelped in shock before leaping at the bed to see what was the matter.

"Hisoka-Hisoka!" She yelled, grabbing his arm. "Hisoka, can you hear me?"

Hisoka gave a shuddering sigh and went limp. Although she was panicking, Ayako's medical training took reign and she automatically checked his vitals. His heartbeat was faint, and he wasn't breathing. She snatched her makeup mirror from her backpack and put it under his nose to be sure. Nothing. She opened his mouth and tipped his head back to check for obstructions. Nothing. There was no time to waste, calling for help; she would have to perform artificial respiration.

She looked down at Hisoka's lips with the slightest hesitation. Not quite the way she would have imagined mouth-to-mouth contact with him, but this was an emergency. She took a deep breath, sealing his mouth with her own. She took in even more breath through her nose, pinched his nose shut, and prepared to exhale forcefully.

* * *

_Hisoka, 14, Meteor City_

* * *

Hisoka coughed weakly. A thin rivulet of blood trailed from his mouth and pooled in the street. He watched it detachedly. It was then that he first heard the music. It was an exotic sound, the plucking of guitar strings and the clapping of hands evoked a sensuous, passionate rhythm. Through hazy vision he saw a beauteous creature step out onto the stage; she lifted her generously frilled skirts and began to twirl, blurring into patterns of shifting, formless color.

Hisoka felt the music course through him, imbuing his spirit with strength and vigor although his body failed him. He lay in the street, inspired, as his life force continued to leave his body. As his consciousness rose and separated from his form he saw himself: a pale, thin boy with an angular face, gasping his last breaths into the streets. He felt a vague sense of pity for this suffering youth, as his incorporeal form wove and twisted in delight to the incredible harmony emanating from the stage.

Hisoka's eyes were no longer seeing by this point, but he felt-watched the sound waves undulate over to his fallen form. It caressed his cheek and whispered a seductive greeting in his ear.

" _What are you?" he asked, entranced. The sound wave gave a sonorous giggle and brushed her flowing hair behind a perfect ear. She leaned in close and whispered into his ear again. The boy's face reddened._

_"Fla-flamingo? I've never heard of that before," stammered the bashful youth. The sound wave emitted her tinkling laugh again. Hisoka thought it the most beautiful sound he had ever heard._

_"No, darling... It's Flamenco. Fla-men-co."_

_"I think it's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard," Hisoka responded with a beatific smile. "Don't stop playing."_

_"Of course not, darling," the music cooed lovingly, caressing his face. "But you have to get up and dance with me."_

Hisoka was so lost in reverie that he didn't even notice the music had physically stopped; the young woman on stage wailing in distress at the sight of the collapsed youth. Sobbing, she leapt from stage and ran to him, crying for help.

 _Live_ , the music coerced.  _Breathe._  Hisoka turned his head and smiled indulgently at the music. A string of notes plucked playfully at his hand, urging him up. The rhythm shook his shoulder insistently. Still Hisoka would not rise. So the music kissed him, breathing life solidly back into him as his consciousness reconnected with his body.

 _He dimly heard a voice, and realized it was Lei'lah._   _Lei'lah was the music, his savior, his songstress._

Hisoka kissed Lei'lah back _._

* * *

_Ayako, Heaven's Arena, Hisoka's Suite_

* * *

Ayako's eyes shot open in surprise, gasping as the jester's lips began to move against hers. Before she could extract herself, Hisoka's right hand moved to the back of her head, gently but firmly holding her in place. She tried to push herself up to flee, but her arms suddenly felt gelatinous, powerless to move. The magician's long, deft tongue caressed her lips, requesting access. She gasped, albeit for an entirely different reason this time, and his tongue used the opportunity to slip inside her mouth.

Her body's reaction was potent and visceral. Lust coiled hotly in the pit of her stomach, and a small moan escaped Ayako's lips before she could suppress it. Horrified at herself, she closed her mouth.

The hand released her head, and as Ayako drew back she found herself pinned by a pair of sharp amber eyes that widened slightly upon seeing her, then relaxed back to their usual half-lidded stare. A smirk formed at the edges of Hisoka's mouth.

"That's an interesting way to wake someone up, Miss Ryoka," the jester drawled. "Although, initiating while I'm asleep is a bit one-sided. I can assure you, I'm a much more engaging participant when I'm fully awake."

"No! I wasn't trying to kiss you!" Ayako responded roughly, mortified more by her body's reaction than by his words.

Hisoka quirked an eyebrow at her. "Your body language suggested otherwise."

"I'm serious!" Ayako's eyes flashed a warning. "You weren't breathing!"

"Seemed to me like you were the one having trouble breathing," Hisoka observed smugly.

"Hisoka! Why don't you just GROW UP for a minute and listen to what I'm saying!" Ayako nearly shouted at him. She paused, surprised at the intensity of her sudden anger. "I'm sorry."

Hisoka was quiet for a moment. "Are you really  _that_  ashamed of your desires that you would lie about kissing me?"

Ayako's face flushed at his words but she folded her arms and retorted, "This has nothing to do with my desires. I'm not lying. You really weren't breathing for a minute. I thought I was going to have to perform artificial respiration on you."

Hisoka's brow furrowed momentarily while he considered this. He looked up at Ayako. "Well, even if that is true, I feel just fine."

Ayako looked at him dubiously. "Are you certain? I nearly had a heart attack."

"I'm certain." The magician stared at her for another eye-piercing moment, sleep-tousled hair attractively framing his face, and Ayako was uncomfortably reminded of the embers of pleasure still stirring in her belly.

"Hisoka, I, uh.."

"Yes, Miss Ryoka?" queried the jester, the edges of his mouth curving slightly upwards.

Ayako could practically feel the trunk of the elephant in the room poking her in the back. He was asking for a peanut, but she ignored it, getting up from the bed and grabbing her folded clothes from the wardrobe. "I'm going to take a shower now. I'd like to discuss our plans for leaving soon after."

"Alright, Miss Ryoka," uttered Hisoka quietly, his eyes never leaving the woman as she moved about the room and into the bathroom. He sat up cross-legged in bed, stretching his arms from side to side and yawning loudly. Then he leapt out of bed and sighed, thoroughly satisfied with himself. The vestiges of his dream still persistently clung to his mind; although he couldn't quite remember what he had been dreaming about, he clearly remembered Lei'lah's music, which echoed familiarly in his head. He felt like having a good stretch.

* * *

Having finished her ablutions some time later, Ayako poked her head out of the room, as if to make a statement. Hisoka had removed his shirt, and was stretching with his back to her. He was humming some tune underneath his breath. Without turning his head, Hisoka asked, "Do you have a question, Miss Ryoka?"

"Wha-I, well, I just," blushed Ayako.  _Spit the words out, girl!_  "I think we should head back to my brother's apartment and see if we can find any more clues as to his whereabouts."

"I already know where we're headed next."

"But his last known location was at his apartment!"

"There's nothing of value left there for us to find him," stated Hisoka matter-of-factly.

"But I still think you should at least see the place, get a sense-" Ayako protested, then faltered as Hisoka waved a dismissive hand. "Maybe you can find something I overlooked."

"Miss Ryoka," stated Hisoka.

"Yes?"

"Although we have no written contract, you have, in effect, hired me to find and rescue your brother, have you not?"

"Yes, but why-"

Hisoka interrupted. "You obviously have faith in my abilities if you went through all this trouble to retain my services. Let me do my job."

Ayako bit her lip, a worried expression on her face. Hisoka ended his stretching routine with a bow and grabbed his shirt off the back of the chair. "Do you entrust me with this task, or not?"

Ayako thought for a moment and then sighed, acquiescing with a nod. The corners of Hisoka's lips turned up ever so slightly. "Good. I suggest you finish packing up your things, then, and we'll be off."

Ayako obeyed automatically, still deep in thought. Hisoka, having very few possessions to pack, sat cross-legged on a chair and built a card house next to the empty wine bottles. The momentary discomfort of yesterday complete forgotten, he reveled in this latest mental victory over his new toy. He eyed Ayako silently, ruminating on the kiss as she fitted her backpack and secured its straps, the cuddly teddy bear making her appear several years younger than she was. Her pixie-cut hairstyle and slender form certainly added to her vulnerability, an effect that only added to Hisoka's enjoyment of the situation. It was her denials and resistance that excited him most of all, however, and he continued plotting until Ayako's voice broke his train of thought.

"Well, where are we headed, if not for Ako's apartment?" she asked, trying to hide the sulk in her voice but failing.

Mildly annoyed at having his thoughts interrupted, Hisoka deftly knocked the card house over and secured it into a stack. As Ayako watched, he waved his hand over the deck and it disappeared. Ayako clapped her hands, delighted by the sudden trick.

"We're going to see an associate of mine," the magician responded vaguely. "He is going to help us locate where your brother is being held."

Surprised, Ayako frowned. "But I can't pay anyone else to do this job... I thought this was just us."

Hisoka waved her concern away. "Price isn't an issue with him," he lied.

Ayako narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the jester, who smiled innocently at her in response. "So where are we headed, then?"

"To the airport. We're heading to Kukuroo Mountain."


	10. Power-play

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning, dubious-consent kissing up ahead and other power-play weirdness. Though I'm not ever sure whether it's dubcon or enthusiasticon when Hisoka's concerned. I know I'm pretty enthusiastic. But enough about me. Onto the story...

"Come again?"

"We're headed to Kukuroo Mountain," answered the jester smoothly, stepping blithely around Ayako into the bathroom. He stood for a moment in front of the mirror, pursing his lips at himself, then took a couple of makeup pencils out of a well-hidden back pocket.

A tense silence reigned for a moment, as Ayako digested the information and Hisoka examined his perfect skin to see if there were any flaws (there weren't). Despite his unconcerned affectations, Hisoka was very much amused by Ayako's facial expression.

"Keep your mouth open much longer like that and I'll have to interpret that as an invitation," remarked Hisoka, seemingly preoccupied with his makeup application.

Ayako snapped her mouth shut.  _What a pervert!_ she groused. "You must be joking."

"I'm an illusionist, not a comedian," responded Hisoka with a haughty tone as he traced a star onto his cheek with precision. "That is our next destination. I've already purchased our tickets for the airship."

"Well, I've already been there." Ayako protested. "The Zoldycks refused to help me already."

"Illumi will join our efforts."

"What? How did you get Illumi to agree to it?" Ayako asked, curious in spite of herself.

"Oh, I have my ways," purred Hisoka, sounding utterly pleased with himself as he finished adorning his cheeks.

"Well, I don't care how skilled he is!" insisted Ayako with arms crossed. Seeing the magician's amused look, she scowled. "I don't want to work with him!"

"Why not, hm?" leered Hisoka.

Ayako met Hisoka's eyes with a fierce, fiery stare that sent all the blood in his body rushing to a certain location. They stared at each other in unblinking silence for a moment before Ayako broke the gaze, looking away as a rosy flush stained her cheeks. "You don't understand."

"Oh, don't I?" responded the jester mockingly. "You were the one who dared me to call him. So, I called your bluff."

Ayako had the pained, despairing look of an injured animal in the crosshairs of an expert archer. "What did he say?"

"He told me everything, Miss Ryoka." responded the jester, still examining himself in the mirror. "Really," he chided, "With all your blushing denials, I didn't take you for a woman with such dishonorable intentions."

Flustered, Ayako covered her face with her hands and groaned. Hisoka gave a wicked grin. "Did I ever tell you how adorable you look when you're vulnerable?"

"You're such a jackass, you know that?" Ayako fumed. "I just want to slap that smirk right off your face."

Within a second, Hisoka stood in front of her, his face so close to hers that Ayako stumbled back into the door. "Ohhh, my little peach," he whispered seductively. "I do wish you would try."

Before Ayako could react, the devilish jester had repositioned himself in front of the mirror to continue his preening. "Miss Ryoka, are you quite done packing yet? I  _would_  like to leave within the next few minutes."

Ayako's hands clenched in anger. How, how  _dare_  he act this way towards her! "I've had enough, Hisoka-san."

"Oh, now you're using honorifics?" drawled Hisoka. "Am I in trouble?" He put his pencils into his back pocket and checked his appearance one last time. Finally satisfied, he stood facing Ayako with his arms akimbo. Ayako, furious, looked away with arms folded and an attractive blush on her cheeks.

"What have I done?" Hisoka asked placatingly.

Ayako didn't answer for a minute, but when she did, her tone was hard. "Listen, I appreciate that you agreed to help me with Ako, but this needs to stop!"

" _What_  needs to stop, Miss Ryoka?" Hisoka's amusement was quickly fading.

"Your mental games and your physical intimidation!"

Hisoka rolled his eyes in response.

Ayako raised a finger to start listing. "You used your Nen to bind my ankle to the door-"

"That was to ensure your safety while I was gone," Hisoka interrupted.

"Yeah, well so much for ensuring my safety! You threatened to physically assault me!"

"To spank you," Hisoka corrected, finger raised. "There's a difference."

"No, that's physical assault!" argued Ayako.

"Doesn't fit in my definition of physical assault." Hisoka shrugged, advancing with intent towards the woman. "I could show you the difference, if you like."

"What I'm saying is, you-..." Ayako shrank back into the door, alarmed at the sudden shift in the jester's mood. "...You have no concept of personal boundaries nor common decency!"

"I don't?" Hisoka gave a predatory smile, speaking softly as he closed the distance between himself and Ayako. "I think I have been  _very_  decent to you, Ayako-chan.  _You,_ however, have been trying  _my_  patience."

" _Me?!"_  Ayako was outraged. "How dare you!"

"That's just it, Miss Ryoka. I  _do_ dare. And what's more, I think you like it." Hisoka strode quickly to her, grabbing her wrists and easily pinning them to the door above her head with one hand. Ayako yelped with a mixture of surprise and fury, struggling as hard as she could to free her hands from his vicelike grip, but to no avail. The magician merely stood above her, watching her intently, calculating, without making a sound. Panting both from adrenaline and from the physical exertion, Ayako slumped, defeated.

Satisfied, Hisoka continued. "I've shown you nothing but kindness and consideration, you know. I let you sleep in my bed, bought you breakfast, took care of your head injury, got your clothes laundered, agreed to help you find your brother, purchased your airfare. And what have you done, hm? You've stalked me, wasted my time, charged multiple meals and expensive bottles of wine to my room, assaulted me in my sleep, and now you tell me how I should be acting? I'm lenient about a lot of things, Miss Ryoka, but you won't get to order me around."

Shamed by the laundry list of her wrongdoings, Ayako looked away. "I told you, Hisoka, I wasn't trying to kiss you in your sleep. There was something wrong..."

But Hisoka had seen her weakness and seized on the opportunity. "You act all coy and bashful, but you throw yourself at Illumi Zoldyck," sneered the jester. "Then I wake up and you're kissing me, but you deny your interest... It's like you're  _trying_ to drive me crazy."

"Hisoka, no, it's not like that. I-"

"Shut up," ordered the man.

Ayako looked up at him, dumbfounded. "Excuse me?"

"Why are you denying what you so clearly want? Your body's saying a different story entirely."

"My body wants you to let me GO, you crazy bastard!" Ayako renewed her struggles with fervor. Hisoka enjoyed the flushed fear on her face, the tiny beads of sweat appearing on her collarbone. "This arrangement is DONE, Hisoka! I'm done. Now let me go and I'll be gone."

"Just when I'm starting to have fun?" He pouted for a moment, then shook his head decisively. "No, I gave you my word, and we are going to see this through to the end. But we're going to do it on my terms."

Instinctually, she raised her knee swiftly to injure Hisoka in a place that would be painful for any grown man. A low, animalistic growl came from the man's throat as he transfixed her with his golden eyes. Ayako stopped speaking as Hisoka grabbed her face roughly with the other hand and kissed her aggressively, his tongue ravaging her mouth. Overwhelmed by the sudden force, she feebly attempted to pull away but his hand held her fast in place. Infuriated by her helplessness, she bit down on the man's tongue until she could taste copper.

At this, Hisoka finally pulled back, transfixing the petite, wild-eyed woman with his golden eyes. A small crimson rivulet of blood trailed from his mouth, striking contrast against his pale skin. Slowly, thoughtfully, he raised a hand to Ayako's mouth, delicately rubbing off the blood smeared around her lips. His gaze appeared almost fond.

"Miss Ryoka, you are just so..." Hisoka sighed with pleasure, " _entertaining."_

Ayako's throat constricted with fear, both at his words and his appearance. _"I'm not some plaything to entertain you!"_ she choked out, eyes shining with unshed tears. Hisoka's eyes glittered with a dark, dangerous amusement.

"You're quite right, Ayako-chan," he spoke softly, his tone mollifying. "I have a proposition for you." Ayako opened her mouth to protest, and he shushed her instantly by placing a bloody finger on her lips.

"Now, you're going to be quiet, girl, and you're going to listen to me. Or else I'm going to have a hard time staying in control of myself, and there will be consequences for you that you're not going to like."

"You can't speak to me like this. You don't own me," Ayako's eyes spit fire and hatred.

"Don't I?" spoke the jester softly, with a steely determination. "I accepted your ridiculous offer to put my life on the line to save your brother; you truly thought you could buy a Hunter as powerful as me with some old gum?" He chuckled to himself at the thought. "If Ako truly has been kidnapped by the mafia, which I sounds more than likely by your description, we'll need to partner with someone with questionable ethics and more resources than what I currently have access to. So I called upon Illumi Zoldyck. Now, you tried to enchant Illumi Zoldyck by offering yourself to him. Your mistake: money only speaks to that one. Whereas I..." Hisoka leered at the frightened woman. "...I am starting to see the value in what you offer."

Ayako took on a pleading tone. "Hisoka, what about the gum? I thought we had agreed-

Hisoka interrupted her. "I may have agreed to help you on those terms, but by no means does that cover my own costs."

"What are you talking about, Hisoka?" Ayako couldn't hide the nervousness in her voice.

"I offered Illumi a blank check to cover the costs of locating your brother. He accepted."

Ayako stammered. "But, His-hisoka-san... there's no need to do that. Can't we figure out some other way?"

"Miss Ryoka, you are in no position to negotiate. You are quite indebted to me; not only for offering to save your brother, but for the extreme sum of money I am prepared to part with in order to find him. Or am I wrong in believing you would do anything to save your brother?"

Ayako hung her head in shame. "What would you have me do?" she asked, utterly defeated.

"You will serve me, obey me in any and all matters until I deem you have repaid your debt to me. In the meantime, I will cover all costs of your room and board."

Ayako looked up at him in shock. "...any and all matters?" she asked, in a tiny voice.

"I will ask nothing unfair of you," reassured Hisoka, although he was certain his interpretation of  _unfair_ was quite different from Ayako's.

 _"_ What if I think something is unfair?"

"You have a right to refuse," Hisoka answered.

"And if I do?"

"Then I will decide a just and fitting consequence at that time."

Ayako had a sudden panicking thought. "But what about my leave of absence?"

"Your what?" asked Hisoka, genuinely confused.

"I'm going to medical school. I took a leave of absence to find my brother. Would I be able to go back to school?"

"Ah, I see." Hisoka filed that useful information for later. "We can discuss that at a later time." Inwardly he triumphed at her silent acceptance of the situation.

Ayako held her head, struggling to absorb all the changes that had happened over the past few minutes.

"Relax, Ayako-chan," whispered Hisoka seductively, "I don't believe you have any choice in the matter anymore." He paused, then kissed the shaking Ayako on the forehead and went back to the mirror to wipe the blood from his face. When he next spoke, his tone brooked no argument.

"Ayako-chan, get yourself ready and presentable in the next two minutes. Bags packed and all. I refuse to be late for this airship."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Leorio did warn her not to get involved with the crazy jester.

**Author's Note:**

> Reposting this work from another site. Currently unfinished, took a break from writing after a large chunk of my draft chapters was gobbled up. Getting back in the flow of things. 
> 
> This is my first fanfiction ever, I hope you enjoy!


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